The position of Vice-Chancellor (V-C) is crucial for the healthy development of a university and for maintaining its reputation. During the past six decades, there have been many serious efforts to spell out the broad attributes for a V-C and it was only in 2010 that the UGC Regulations prescribed the qualification norms and selection process for V-Cs. These were not mere guidelines but had the force of law and required the states to amend their Universities Acts accordingly.
To restore the credibility and reputation of the university system, the UGC Regulations on minimum qualifications for appointment of teachers and other academic staff in universities and colleges and measures for maintenance of standards in higher education (2010) prescribed in clause 7.3.0 for the selection of V-Cs are as follows: “Persons of the highest level of competence, integrity, morals and institutional commitment are to be appointed as V-Cs. The V-C to be appointed should be a distinguished academician, with a minimum of ten years of experience as Professor in a University system or ten years of experience in an equivalent position in a reputed research and/or academic administrative organisation.”
It also provided that V-Cs must be selected through proper identification of a panel of three to five names by a search committee through a public notification or nomination or a talent search process or in combination.
The UGC quietly withdrew clause 7.3.0 reportedly under pressure from several state governments and the private university lobby as reported in The New Indian Express on September 28, 2012. This will pave the way for appointing persons with dubious
credentials as V-Cs.
A widespread scandalous situation prevails in the selection of V-Cs with political interference—unfortunately, a national phenomenon. V-Cs of many state universities are appointed either on the basis of allegiance to the ruling party or on family ties with persons in power or on payment of crores of rupees. It’s a matter of shame that in some states, persons are willing to bribe even to be appointed as members/chairpersons of search committees of V-Cs.
Many appointments of V-Cs hardly met the UGC criteria of 10 years in the rank of professor or equivalent not to speak of the academic competence, integrity, moral and institutional commitments. Persons who had been a professors for hardly a year with little or no identifiable academic merits became V-Cs. In many private universities, relatives of its promoters were appointed V-Cs. Fortunately, the Centrally funded institutions are free from such maladies.
During an address at the Bombay University in 2009, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (a former UGC chairman) pointed out, “...I am concerned that in many states, university appointments, including that of V-Cs, have been politicised and have become subject to caste and communal considerations... We should free university appointments from unnecessary interventions on the part of governments and must promote autonomy and accountability. I urge states to pay greater attention to this aspect. After all, a dysfunctional education system can only produce dysfunctional graduates.”
There are several ways in which corruption in appointing V-Cs could be minimised. The Central Government must restore clause 7.3.0 and persuade the state universities and private sectors to comply with the norms. The Acts of the state universities should specify essential qualifications for V-Cs. The accreditation of a university should give high weight for this aspect. Such initiatives will require enormous political will but can ensure high probity in university governance and ensure the credibility of our higher education system. ananda1928@gmail.com
The writer is the chairman of board of governors of
IIT-Kanpur