Academicians U.R. Ananthamurthy and Rajan Gurukkal have blamed the government for appointing Mahatma Gandhi University Vice-Chancellor A.V. George despite realising that he had misrepresented his qualifications in the curriculum vitae.
In a telephonic conversation from his residence at Bangalore, Prof. Ananthamurthy told The Hindu that it was the responsibility of the government not to appoint a person illegally. He also hoped that the Governor would not have acted on political grounds but purely on the basis of moral and legal reasons while sacking the vice chancellor.
Prof. Gurukkal said in an e-mail from Bangalore that it was self-defeating for the government to have a vice chancellor appointed after overruling the recorded objection of the UGC nominee in the search committee. “It exposes how bureaucratic quibbling and procedures succeed in overlooking the laws of an institution legislated to be autonomous.”
Stating that it is unfortunate that a vice chancellor had to be expelled for misrepresenting his qualifications, B. Ekbal, former vice- chancellor of Kerala University who is currently in the U.S., pointed out that the infightings within the UDF was another reason for Mr. George’s exit.
