BENGALURU: While the tussle between the governor and the chief minister on who should be ‘in-charge’ of universities, including for appointments of vice-chancellors, rages on, senior Congress leader BK Chandrashekar has suggested that the powers should neither be with the governor nor the CM, but instead be vested with an ‘executive authority’ set up within each university.
Speaking to TNIE on Wednesday, Chandrashekar said, “An executive authority/council should be set up and be vested with all the academic and administrative powers, instead of the governor or the CM, including for the appointments of VCs to universities.
This not only ensures that the universities are free from political interventions, but also that deserving candidates get the chance to head universities and develop them.” If this happens, the former education minister was confident that state universities in the next two decades can develop into national-level institutions of international repute.
“Academic authority often does not flow from any statute (a law or rule), but on the manner of influencing colleagues by a leader, such as the VC or a Dean. Leadership within a university should preferably be developed by one’s academic standing, rather than from a statute,” he said.
He also advised the Congress-led state government to be generous in allocating funds towards education, saying, “Recently, while debating on the closure of new universities reportedly due to lack of funds, Higher Education Minister MC Sudhakar said the state is already spending Rs 950 crore on permanent university staff and pensions. Both state and Union governments must generously spend on the education sector.”
He alleged that the Centre and the BJP-led state governments are aiming to corporatise, centralise and communalise the education sector through the NEP, and that the Karnataka government must counter it.