KOTTAYAM: Efforts were in full swing to appoint Vice-Chancellors (VCs) in four universities in the state, Governor and Chancellor P Sathasivam said on Friday. He was speaking to reporters after the Chancellor’s Council meet at Mahatma Gandhi University in Kottayam.
VC posts were vacant in the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU), Kerala Kalamandalam University (KKU), Kannur University (KU) and Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit (SSUS), he said.“In the case of KVASU and KKU, writ petitions are pending in the Kerala High Court and the government and Chancellor’s office have been taking up the matter legally.
A decision will be taken in accordance with the court’s directive. In the case of KU and SSUS, process is on to form search committees and a panel of eligible claimants will be submitted to the Chancellor soon,” Sathasivam said. He said the VCs and Pro-VCs will be appointed in strict adherence to UGC (University Grants Commission) regulations, 2010, as the government had already issued an order in this regard on July 10 this year.
Chancellor’s Council meet
Sathasivam said the Chancellor’s Council meet reviewed the varsities’ achievements based on quarterly reports submitted to the Chancellor from June 30 last year to March 31 this year. “The VCs detailed their various initiatives, including keeping of the academic schedule, introduction of massive online open courses, methods adopted to improve quality of education, steps taken to upgrade employability and so on,” he said. He said the academic position of varsities in Kerala had improved since the constitution of the Chancellor’s Council, evident from the fact four universities of the state - the Kerala University, Calicut University, MG University and Cusat - figured in the NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework) list prepared by the Ministry of Human Resource Department in 2017. “Only Cusat had figured in the previous list,” he said.
He said the Chancellor’s Council was trying its best to improve the standard of education, improve employability and reduce students’ unrest.
‘Emerging Young University’
Sathasivam said the ‘Emerging Young University’ carrying `1 crore will be introduced this year. “A five-member committee has already been constituted to select universities for the award,” he said.
Sathasivam urged universities working in the agricultural, medical, fisheries and veterinary sectors to create more specialised schemes in their respective fields.
Blood donation
Sathasivam stressed on maintaining blood donor units or blood donor registry in universities and affiliated colleges and mooted the introduction of incentives to promote voluntary blood donation.