TIRUCHY: Amid the continuing tussle between the Tamil Nadu government and Governor R N Ravi over the appointment of vice-chancellors (V-Cs) to state universities, the tenure of the V-C search committee for Bharathidasan University (BDU) has been extended till March 21. Following this, the committee has restarted the selection process stalled in 2025 and is expected to submit a list of shortlisted candidates to the state government within this month, official sources said.
The three-member V-C search committee was constituted through a government order dated April 25, 2025. The committee comprises retired IAS officer K Deenabandu as the government nominee, S Subbiah as the senate nominee and former Tamil University V-C M Rajendran as the syndicate nominee.
Following delays triggered by legal and procedural issues surrounding V-C appointments, the state government extended the committee's tenure till March 21. Its tenure had expired around July last year. Official sources said that the shortlisting process is under way and indicated that it is expected to gain momentum as the Supreme Court hearing on the broader issue of V-C appointments is likely to conclude later this month.
According to sources in the higher education department, while the appointment process remains under judicial scrutiny, the state government is proceeding with preparatory steps. "The government is shortlisting eligible candidates and will complete its part of the process by finalising a panel of three names. The final decision on appointment will follow the outcome of the legal proceedings," an official source said.
The officials also said that similar processes have been initiated in other universities like Periyar University. Higher Education Secretary P Shankar told TNIE that the search committee functions independently. "The committee is carrying out its mandate as per norms and has time until March 2026 to complete the process," he said.