THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Ahead of the implementation of UGC’s latest regulations, the state government has kick-started the process to appoint a new vice chancellor in National University of Legal and Advanced Studies (NUALS).
The government’s move comes in the backdrop of the complaints that the new UGC regulations would diminish the role of state governments in VC selection process.
Unlike other universities, the search panel to select the VC of NUALS does not have the nominee of the chancellor. The Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court is the varsity’s chancellor. Instead it has nominees of the state government, the State Bar Council and UGC. Once the UGC Regulations 2025 come into force, the government and bar council nominees will be replaced with that of the Chancellor and the university, while the UGC nominee will continue to remain in the panel.
“The swift move on the part of the government is due to the realisation that a person favourable to the ruling dispensation would not get preference to the VC post as the search committee would not have its nominee, once the new UGC regulations come into force,” pointed out a source in the varsity.
According to the notification issued by NUALS, Dr B Ekbal, former VC of Kerala University, will be the state government’s nominee. While Prof Sabu Thomas, former VC of MG University, will be the nominee of the Bar Council of Kerala, Prof H D Charan, former VC of Bikaner Technical University will be the UGC nominee.
Meanwhile, complaints have emerged over the constitution of the search committee of NUALS as it does not have any legal expert on board. In the case of Technological, Agriculture, Fisheries, Veterinary and Health Universities, experts in the respective domains have been conventionally included as search committee members.