<p>Perhaps for the first time in the history of Karnataka, the appointment of a Vice-Chancellor (VC) of a university has been quashed by the Karnataka High Court, raising questions about the process adopted in such appointments. In 2019, a single-judge bench had quashed the appointment of Prof K R Venugopal as the Vice Chancellor of Bengaluru University after it was challenged by Prof Sangamesh Patil of Gulbarga University, who was also an aspirant for the top post. Patil had contended that the then Governor Vajubhai Vala had, in his capacity as Chancellor of universities, appointed Venugopal unilaterally, without the concurrence of the state government, in violation of Section 14(4) of the Karnataka State Universities Act. The Division Bench, which had earlier stayed the operation of this order, has now upheld it. The appointment was later ratified by the government, but the court held that such post-facto ratification was invalid as “It is a well settled legal principle that when the statute prescribes the power to do a certain thing in a certain way, that thing has to be done in that way or not at all.” The Governor is made the Chancellor of universities to uphold the sanctity of these institutions of higher learning, a responsibility that Vala clearly failed to discharge honourably given the controversies surrounding many appointments made during his time. In fact, Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar had publicly objected to Vala appointing a tainted professor from a private dental college as the acting Vice Chancellor of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) and doing so without consulting the government.</p>.<p>Interestingly, a reference was made in the Assembly this week to the fact that universities seemed to have become extensions of the Public Works Department, undertaking huge construction works. The connection between wrongful appointments and this degradation of universities is apparent. It is believed in academic circles that bribes of the order of Rs 8-10 crore have to be paid to secure appointment as a Vice Chancellor. The excessive construction works undertaken on campuses help to generate such money or recover the ‘investment’ made by the VC. Lawmakers and the government know what has gone wrong. Why haven’t they acted to correct it?</p>.<p>Higher Education Minister C Ashwath Narayan had sometime ago promised that the government would draw up a panel of eminent personalities from which VCs and members of other academic bodies would be drawn, but the plan remains on paper. Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot should initiate urgent steps to clear the rot in our universities. To do that, he has to begin by restoring the credibility of appointments made to them, by making merit and capability the only criteria and by following due process in appointments. </p>
<p>Perhaps for the first time in the history of Karnataka, the appointment of a Vice-Chancellor (VC) of a university has been quashed by the Karnataka High Court, raising questions about the process adopted in such appointments. In 2019, a single-judge bench had quashed the appointment of Prof K R Venugopal as the Vice Chancellor of Bengaluru University after it was challenged by Prof Sangamesh Patil of Gulbarga University, who was also an aspirant for the top post. Patil had contended that the then Governor Vajubhai Vala had, in his capacity as Chancellor of universities, appointed Venugopal unilaterally, without the concurrence of the state government, in violation of Section 14(4) of the Karnataka State Universities Act. The Division Bench, which had earlier stayed the operation of this order, has now upheld it. The appointment was later ratified by the government, but the court held that such post-facto ratification was invalid as “It is a well settled legal principle that when the statute prescribes the power to do a certain thing in a certain way, that thing has to be done in that way or not at all.” The Governor is made the Chancellor of universities to uphold the sanctity of these institutions of higher learning, a responsibility that Vala clearly failed to discharge honourably given the controversies surrounding many appointments made during his time. In fact, Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar had publicly objected to Vala appointing a tainted professor from a private dental college as the acting Vice Chancellor of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) and doing so without consulting the government.</p>.<p>Interestingly, a reference was made in the Assembly this week to the fact that universities seemed to have become extensions of the Public Works Department, undertaking huge construction works. The connection between wrongful appointments and this degradation of universities is apparent. It is believed in academic circles that bribes of the order of Rs 8-10 crore have to be paid to secure appointment as a Vice Chancellor. The excessive construction works undertaken on campuses help to generate such money or recover the ‘investment’ made by the VC. Lawmakers and the government know what has gone wrong. Why haven’t they acted to correct it?</p>.<p>Higher Education Minister C Ashwath Narayan had sometime ago promised that the government would draw up a panel of eminent personalities from which VCs and members of other academic bodies would be drawn, but the plan remains on paper. Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot should initiate urgent steps to clear the rot in our universities. To do that, he has to begin by restoring the credibility of appointments made to them, by making merit and capability the only criteria and by following due process in appointments. </p>
