The State government has promulgated an amendment to the existing laws governing the appointment of Vice-Chancellors in State universities and the formation of search committees.
The amendment will come into force with immediate effect in 12 universities. For it to be applicable to the University of Madras, the government will send the amendment to the Madras University Act, 1923, to the President for his assent.
Higher Education Minister K.P. Anbalagan, on Saturday, announced an ordinance for constitution of V-C search committees, which had been approved earlier by the Governor-Chancellor.
The ordinance specifies that the search committee be constituted six months before the tenure of the incumbent VC ends. The election for the Senate and Syndicate nominees should be done within two months. The list of probable candidates for VC post should be finalised within four months’ of the committee’s constitution. It is the Governor’s discretion to either dissolve the committee or give it time if the committee exceeds the time limit.
Mr. Anbalagan said the delay had been caused by the Senate nominees of the University of Madras, R. Surendira Prasad and the resignation of the Madurai Kamaraj University Senate nominee Mu. Ramasamy.
The ordinance specifies the qualifications for the committee members and for the VC aspirants. The Governor-Chancellor nominee would be a retired judge of the Supreme Court or any high court or a distinguished academician; the government’s nominee would be a retired bureaucrat not below the rank of a principal secretary or an eminent academician and the university would nominate a distinguished educationist for the committee.
An eminent academician is the one who has served at least 10 years either in a State or Central institution or an equivalent educational organisation in the post of a director or chief official in the institution.
“Till now there was no time frame for submitting the panel of names to the Governor-Chancellor. In the case of Madurai Kamaraj University it took two-and-a-half years and for Madras University, 15 months. We don’t want such delays henceforth,” Mr. Anbalagan said.
The amendment would not apply to the Madras University Act, 1923, as it was framed before Independence. To include this university, the amendment would be sent to the President for his assent, higher education officials said.
UGC norms
The UGC Regulations and the Maharashtra Public Universities Act of 2017 have provided some clues to the Tamil Nadu authorities while framing new laws for the State Universities. It includes the qualification for the person to be chosen for the post of VC, who should have a minimum of 10 years’ experience as professor in a university or in an equivalent position. The selection of VC should be through proper identification of a panel of three to five names by a search committee.
As for the composition of a search committee, the Maharashtra law, which is applicable to 11 universities in that State, has prescribed that the nominee of Governor-Chancellor should be a retired judge of the Supreme Court or a retired Chief Justice of a High Court or a recipient of Padma award in the field of education.
While the Principal Secretary of the State Higher and Technical Education department would be the State government’s nominee, the Director or Head of an institution established by an Act of Parliament would be the nominee of the university concerned.
The committee would recommend not less than five persons who would possess such educational qualifications and experience, as may be specified by the State government in the gazette, according to Maharashtra Act.
State Higher Education Secretary Sunil Paliwal said the State government had “gone beyond” the UGC regulations with regard to the selection of VCs and made “appropriate changes” in its laws after studying relevant provisions of the Maharashtra law.
