Former BJP media cell convener appointed V-C of Mahatma Gandhi-founded Gujarat Vidyapith amid controversy

Ahmedabad: Former convenor of Gujarat BJP media cell and currently vice-chancellor of the Indian Institute of Teacher's Education (IITE) in Gandhinagar, Harshad Patel, was appointed vice-chancellor (V-C) of Gujarat Vidyapith on Wednesday. Gujarat Vidyapith is a deemed university founded over a hundred years ago by Mahatma Gandhi.

Acharya Devvrat, the Governor of Gujarat, who has served as the chancellor of Vidyapith since 2022, appointed Patel as its 17th vice-chancellor. The post fell vacant after Rajendra Khimani was forced to step down following show cause notices from the UGC for lacking the required academic experience and facing allegations of financial irregularities.

Khimani resigned after the Gujarat High Court refused to entertain a petition challenging his appointment. Interestingly, Patel's appointment as V-C of IITE in 2020 was also challenged in the high court on the grounds that he lacked the required qualifications, including ten years' experience as a college professor, as stipulated by University Grants Commission (UGC) rules. The court rejected the petition, stating that there was no "irregularity with regard to his appointment."

His biodata on the IITE website states that he was a "teacher educator" at SUG College of Education in Ahmedabad. His biodata on SUG College's website states that he has been an "associate professor since 1998 to continue..."

He has also held various posts, including Independent Director at EdCIL (India) Limited (PSU of MHRD), Government of India, member of WRC, National Council of Teacher Education, special officer for media at the Chief Minister's Office, Government of Gujarat, vice-chairman of the Municipal School Board, member of the "Task Force" committee for the New Education Policy 2020 in the Education Department, Government of Gujarat, chairperson of the National Focus Group for Early Child Care & Education and Foundational Literacy & Numeracy (ECCE-FLN) at the National Council of Educational Research and Training, Ministry of Education, Government of India, member of the board of management at Gujarat Vidyapith, vice-chancellor of Children's University in Gandhinagar, and trustee of Gujarat Vidyapith.

Vidyapith, established in 1920 by Gandhi, has undergone many changes in the past couple of years, particularly after the death of Ela Bhatt, the noted activist and founder of the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA).

The varsity, facing charges of irregularities in appointments and managing finances, approached Governor Devvrat to accept the post of chancellor. Nine trustees of the varsity resigned against the move and wrote an open letter asking the governor not to accept the post, stating that it was done "under crass political pressure" and "in total disregard of Gandhi’s values, methods, and practices."

The governor accepted the post, and the resignations of the nine eminent trustees were also accepted. Since then, nine new trustees have been selected, including former BJP minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, Chairman of the Board of Governors at the Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta, Srikrishna Kulkarni, and Harshad Patel, among others.