THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Exercising his powers as Chancellor, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has given the charge of the Vice Chancellor of Calicut University to P Raveendran, a professor in the University’s Department of Chemistry.
Raveendran was given charge following the expiry of the term of the incumbent Vice Chancellor P Jayaraj on Friday. Raveendran shall exercise the powers and perform the duties of Vice-Chancellor till a permanent appointment is made to the post, a notification from the Raj Bhavan said.
According to sources, the Governor gave the VC charge to Raveendran after disregarding a panel of three names of professors proposed by the state government.
The panel proposed by Higher Education Minister R Bindu reportedly included Calicut University Physics Professor PP Pradyumnan, Kerala University Hindi Professor Jayachandran R and KU English professor Meena T Pillai.
In the wake of a Supreme Court order stating that the government shall not intervene in the matter of Vice Chancellor appointments, Khan disregarded the government's recommendation and handpicked an academic of his choice to hold the charge of VC.