BENGALURU: The Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences’ (RGUHS) decision to hire a former state director of medical education as its director for research and development has stirred up a storm.
The proposal sent by the RGUHS vice-chancellor on the appointment of Dr G S Venkatesh, former medical education director who is now with Mysore Medical College, has been approved by the principal secretary to the Health and Family Welfare Department.
However, many officials and RGUHS Syndicate members are opposing this, with the latter claiming that the proposal was not placed before the Syndicate. They also told Express that Venkatesh has been offered a five-year term, as opposed to the usual three-year one. A senior Syndicate member said, “Sending the proposal to the government without placing it before the Syndicate is a violation of rules. We will question this in the forthcoming Syndicate meeting.”
Another member said though the vice-chancellor has powers to make appointments, the names should be placed before the Syndicate and approved.
D Prem Kumar, registrar (administration) of RGUHS, said the government was posting Venkatesh on the basis of merit alone. “There is no gross violation here, and the vice-chancellor has powers to make appointments. We can then place it (the name) before the Syndicate for ratification.”