Govt-controlled system: The state of universities

It's time that the govt-controlled, bureaucracy-monitored education system be replaced by a more pragmatic system

The recent news about one of the professors of the Mangalore University paid Rs 17.5 lakhs to a politician of the party in power to broker a Vice Chancellor’s post at Raichur University did not come as a surprise to anybody. It came out in the open, only after the professor filed a police complaint for being duped. No one dare speak out as no one has the proof to prove that there were considerations other than merit in choosing educationists for this coveted post.

It is also rumoured that even a member of University Syndicate carries a price tag.

Gone are the days when professors declined the offers of Vice-Chancellorship. A good example is that of Prof Parvathamma of the Sociology department of the Mysore University a couple of years ago. It is also rare to come across academicians like Prof Thimmappa, former V-C of Bangalore University, who refused to accept a government nominated position of Syndicate member on grounds that he was not an educationist. Nowadays there seem to be a set pattern of operation for professors aspiring to be a Vice Chancellor, though it is everyone’s right to aspire high.

In the race to become V-C, the aspirant first aligns with a political party in power; develop contacts with people who have connections and use community might and political backing. The erstwhile Vice Chancellors are often good guides. I dare not speak further what more might follow. Leaving the press report of attempted bribery to the police to investigate, I would like to raise some concerns related to our state universities.

The first concern is about how much time does a V-C spend in his office during the term of four years, purely doing university business, debating with academics, the changes he would like to make in the system, improving teaching and research quality, enhancing research facilities? Is it not time that the number of overseas visits by a Vice-Chancellor for reasons of collaboration and MoU signing are made accountable? No one knows how many such MoUs were signed and how many are really working?

The second matter of concern is the Common State University Act that has taken away academic freedom and power of approval of every decision of the university bodies being vested with the government. This sort of control has left a Vice Chancellor powerless, and helpless. A university cannot make any change in its ordinances or regulations or create a position, start any new department or implement any policy without the government’s nod. Hence, we cannot entirely blame the Vice Chancellor for this. The blame should be pinned on the government for assuming control over universities. The remedy is to scrap the Common Universities Act.

The Third issue is the process of selection of Vice -Chancellor. There are three hurdles to cross after a public notice is issued for filling up the V-C’s position. The first stage is to get the name in the panel prepared by the search committee, second, the government to pick and recommend one name and third the Governor’s approval or rejection of the government’s choice. The constitution of the search committee is also not free from lobbying as the university Syndicate nominates one member and the Governor nominates one. The UGC sends its representative. So, every aspirant tries to cross these hurdles and works hard to get the name cleared in his or her favour by lobbying. One who is good at it gets the chair. Once he or she is on the seat, out of the four years, first year is a honeymoon time for some and the last six months are spent on felicitations. The first six months are also spent in building clout around them of “likeminded” supporters or inner circle.

My fourth focus is, on the challenges before the future graduates in their quest for getting employed. My questions are: How many times does academics debate and adopt global trends of teaching, research and skill development? Do we recognise that we are producing human resource for global employability? Have we thought about the potential of AI and Robotics replacing human beings? Are we discussing what interdisciplinary programmes should dominate our curricula to cope with changing dynamics of employment? Perhaps the answer is no as the administrators of the universities find no time for it.

Finally, do V-Cs have a voice to raise against government policies? Did any of our Vice Chancellor make an attempt to abolish university jurisdiction to allow free mobility of students? Can we change the present system and bring innovation and creativity in the soul of our universities? We all need to ponder seriously. It’s time that the government-controlled, bureaucracy-monitored education system should be replaced by a more pragmatic system.

(The writer is a former Vice-Chancellor of Kashmir University and Pondicherry Central University, BSA University Chennai, and a former member of UGC)