The University Grants Commission (UGC) is against any compromise by the State Governments in appointing Vice-Chancellors for universities, Ved Prakash, Vice-Chairman, UGC, New Delhi, said here on Wednesday.
“We advise the States to appoint only good and able persons as V-Cs…There are already certain broad guidelines and they have to be followed,” he said.
Speaking to The Hindu during his visit to the Madurai Kamaraj University convocation, Prof. Ved Prakash opined that appointing right persons as Vice-Chancellors was of paramount importance as “you are shaping the future of the country on the campuses and hence a VC should be a role-model.”
He said that a debate was going on for a long time on the issue of Vice-Chancellor appointments in view of criticism coming in from various quarters that States were not following the requisite standards.
“A person being appointed as a Vice-Chancellor has to be an academician and should have administrative acumen too. These days, aspirations are high and everybody expects to become a V-C. But, the State Governments must look out for individuals who have excellence and long-term vision,” said Prof. Ved Prakash.
Asked if he found instances where the V-C appointments were not in tune with the expected standards or UGC guidelines, he said that people know better what has been happening. According to him, the UGC cannot directly intervene on the matter of appointments but could only issue an advisory to the State Governments, if required.
“There has to be transparency and objectivity while appointing a candidate as Vice-Chancellor. And, the UGC has the mandate of maintaining standards.”
Existing Institutions
The UGC Vice-Chairman also stressed that the existing institutions of higher education should not be undermined while establishing new ones across the country.
“It is extremely necessary to set up new institutions. But, we must make sure that existing institutions must be made to function at optimum level. Weak institutions have to be strengthened,” Prof. Ved Prakash observed.
