The State government’s decision to effect changes in the composition of search committees for Vice-Chancellors has evoked a mixed response from experts.
Welcoming the inclusion of a retired judge of the Supreme Court or a High Court, M. Anandakrishnan, former Anna University Vice-Chancellor and Chairman of the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur, says the move would “improve” upon the University Grants Commission Regulations.
However, S.P. Thyagarajan, former Madras University Vice-Chancellor and chairman of a panel that drafted UGC Regulations during 2008-10, and R. Kannan, former Additional Chief Secretary in the State government, who had held the post of Higher Education Secretary, feel that what counts most is the quality of persons nominated to the search committees and not necessarily, any category of individuals.
Persons, known for integrity and eminence with international exposure, should be made members of the committee, they say.
‘Politically attuned’
But Dr Anandakrishnan takes exception to the scope for the inclusion of a retired bureaucrat on the search panels as, in Tamil Nadu, many civil servants, while in service or retirement, are “politically attuned.”
Dr. Kannan counters this view saying that on a number of occasions, it was civil servants who provided “right leadership” to universities and were brought in during crisis situations.
