BANGALORE: A day after Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) Vice-Chancellor Dr H Maheshappa confessed in High Court that he had provided false information about the marks he had secured in BE, senior academicians and former vice-chancellors have placed the onus on the Search Committees.
“There already exists a mechanism to verify the genuineness of a VC’s documents. However, the onus should be on the Search Committee which is responsible for selecting the right profiles. The committee needs to be more alert in this regard,” said B R Ananthan, Vice-Chancellor, Rani Chenamma University, Belgaum. What seems to be the concern with the current system of selection and review of bio data for the post of vice-chancellor is the trust factor - is the candidate honest about his credentials?
“There is no need for a major change in the system of selection of applicants for the post of a VC. In this case, Dr Maheshappa has made a mistake. The Search Committee should be more careful and must act in a transparent manner,” said Dr K Balaveera Reddy, former VTU VC. Sharing a similar view was Dr M S Thimmappa, former BU VC, who added that a strong penalty would suffice in this case.
“I think verification of a VC’s documents is embarrassing, but a severe penalty may send the right message across,” he said. Higher Education Minster Dr V S Acharya told Express that the Search Committee may be wrong.“ I am not blaming anyone, I believe that verification should have been done at Raj Bhavan. Who is really at fault here? The Search Committee for believing Dr Maheshappa or the latter for lying to the committee?” he questioned.