The Telangana government faces the herculean task of managing all the universities without vice-chancellors from Saturday when three V-Cs will demit office creating a unique situation where all the varsities will function with in-charge V-Cs.
The V-Cs who will complete their term on Saturday are Veera Reddy of Satavahana University, Karimnagar; G. Bagyanarayana of Palamuru University, Mahabubnagar and E. Siva Reddy of Potti Sriramulu Telugu University. V-Cs of all the other varsities – Osmania, Kakatiya, Mahatma Gandhi, Telangana, JNTUH and B.R. Ambedkar Open University have completed their terms long ago.
Their absence will surely affect the administration as examinations are yet to be completed and admission tests for the next academic year to be planned and conducted in the next 45 days. The entrance tests are taken by thousands of students to get admission into two-year PG courses. The process is not only cumbersome, but has to be handled diligently given the sensitivities attached to it.
The impact of the V-Cs’ absence is already being felt in the administration. Principals are finding it difficult to manage hostels due to lack of funds and it has also impacted the collection of mess dues from students. OU Arts College principal had to issue orders to shut down the mess facility on Friday with arrears piling up to Rs. 30 lakh. After students’ protests, the orders were withdrawn for the time being. Senior teachers say that no one is taking up the responsibility as most varsities have Principal Secretaries as in-charge V-Cs and they have little time to look into these aspects. “This is a crucial time as workload increases in universities with exams and entrance tests to be conducted,” said a senior teacher, wishing anonymity.
Universities are also likely to lose funds from the Central agencies with not much monitoring on the proposals to be submitted for various projects in the UGC. Moreover, the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) visit is pending in some varsities and they will lose funds if everything is not in order. Sources in the government, however, say that the process of identifying the right candidates is on and the entire exercise is likely to be completed by next month end. The delay, they say, is due to the government’s intentions to bring in changes in the AP Universities Act making it more suitable for Telangana.
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is keen on selecting some tough men for the top job in prominent varsities like Osmania and Kakatiya to put the system on track.
