Kerala University of Health Sciences (KUHS) Vice Chancellor Mohanan Kunnummal has been given additional charge of Kerala University. The temporary appointment was made following the completion of the tenure of V.P. Mahadevan Pillai as Vice Chancellor on Monday.
The decision by the Raj Bhavan to entrust Dr. Kunnummal the additional charge capped a politically-charged day that witnessed both Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Governor Arif Mohammed Khan taking on each other with serious allegations and ripostes that essentially concerned the bounds of Chancellorship in the administration of universities. Dr. Kunnummal will officiate as the Vice Chancellor until the selection of Prof. Pillai’s successor.
While choosing Dr. Kunnummal for the task, the Chancellor chose to ignore the government’s recommendation to hand over the additional charge of Kerala University Vice Chancellor to one among the Vice Chancellors of Mahatma Gandhi University and Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit.
Official sources point out the selection also factored in the identification of universities that had Vice Chancellors who were allegedly appointed in violation of University Grants Commission norms. KUHS did not figure among the list of universities prepared by the Raj Bhavan.
The Governor has provided time to the Vice Chancellors of nine universities to submit explanation to show cause notices served on them before 5 p.m. on November 3. The notices were served to prove their legal right to continue in their positions and there appointments not declared as illegal and void ab initio.
The Raj Bhavan move came against the backdrop of the Supreme Court annulling the appointment of M.S. Rajasree as Vice Chancellor of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University after being found to have violated UGC guidelines.
