Calicut University is unlikely to get a new Vice-Chancellor (VC) before the end of this academic year. Though it’s been over a month since the Senate renominated Kerala State Planning Board vice chairman V.K. Ramachandran to a three-member panel that chooses the VC, it is not yet known if the selection process will be completed by March-end.
No list submitted
The previous search panel could not submit a list of applicants to Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, who is the Chancellor of universities, before its tenure ended on November 15.
Apart from Mr. Ramachandran, Chief Secretary Tom Jose, and Jawaharlal Nehru University Vice-Chancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar were its members.
While Mr. Jose was the Chancellor’s nominee, Mr. Kumar was recommended by the University Grants Commission (UGC). The Governor later decided to reconstitute the search panel and the university Senate on December 10 renominated Mr. Ramachandran, with a section of its members voting against him.
According to university sources, the tenure of the search panel is three months, and the previous panel’s term had been extended by another month. Normally, the Chief Secretary is the Chancellor’s nominee.
However, it remains to be seen who the UGC will pick. Last time, the panel had chosen five applicants for an interview scheduled at Thiruvananthapuram on November 12.
Interview cancelled
The interview was cancelled as Mr. Kumar could not attend it due to the student unrest on the JNU campus over fee hike. V. Anil Kumar, Vice-Chancellor of Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University, is holding the additional charge as the tenure of the incumbent VC K. Mohammed Basheer ended on November 20.
Shortlisting candidates
Even after the UGC and the Chancellor name their nominees, it could take another three more months for the selection process to complete.
New applications will have to be called and an interview with shortlisted candidates will have to be held again, before submitting a shortlist to the Governor.
Teachers’ appointment
Meanwhile, the university has called for applications to appoint 116 teachers to its various departments.
The constitution of the Board of Studies and the appointment of Deans is pending too. The Congress-affiliated Calicut University Teachers’ Association recently sent a letter to the Chancellor to stop all proceedings until a permanent VC was appointed as they claimed that there was a chance of political interference by the ruling party.
