THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On a day the government tabled the University Laws (Amendment) Bill-2022, which aims to curtail his power in the selection of vice-chancellors, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Wednesday said he will not allow VCs to be used for making nepotistic appointments in varsities.
“The assembly has full right (to enact legislation) and that right must be respected. However, the governor has a duty too. You can be certain that I will not allow a selection where VCs are used to appoint relatives of those in power,” Khan told reporters a day after he said he will not sign any bill that was against the Constitution or eroded the autonomy of universities.
The bill, which was referred to the assembly’s subject committee on education, aims to amend the Acts of the Universities of Kerala, MG, Calicut, Kannur and Sanskrit to increase the number of members in the VC selection committee from three to five.
The Opposition, which termed the bill as unconstitutional, said this will enable the committee to have a majority of members close to the government so that a person close to the ruling dispensation can be chosen as VC.
K T Jaleel invokes RSS, urges IUML to back bill
The governor pointed out a Supreme Court ruling that said universities were bound to follow the regulations of the University Grants Commission (UGC). “The regulations say no person linked to a university or college should be made a member of the VC selection committee. By proposing to include the vice-chairman of the state higher education council as a member and convener of the committee, the regulation has been violated, he said, adding, “These things cannot escape my attention.”
In the assembly, Higher Education Minister R Bindu said UGC regulations prescribed that one member of the VC selection committee should be a nominee of the UGC chairman. “The regulations do not mention how many more members can be included in the committee or who they should be,” she said.
The Opposition said the bill would not pass legal scrutiny. Congress MLA P C Vishnunadh said it was against Article 254 of the Constitution that deals with inconsistency between laws enacted by Parliament and the ones made by state legislatures.
Accusing the RSS of misusing Governors, Left-backed independent MLA K T Jaleel appealed to Opposition parties, especially the Indian Union Muslim League, to support the bill that aimed to bucked the trend. “Don’t you have any opposition to the RSS’ ulterior motives to foist its nominees as VCs?” Jaleel asked.