THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala University has chosen to ignore Governor Arif Mohammed Khan’s ultimatum asking it to provide the name of its senate nominee on Monday for the three-member vice-chancellor selection panel.
Khan had formed the search-cum-selection panel on August 5 with his nominee and that of the University Grants Commission (UGC) saying the senate nominee could be included later. On Monday, incumbent VC V P Mahadevan Pillai, whose term expires on October 24, said the senate was of the view that it will not choose a nominee until the committee constituted ‘unilaterally’ by Khan, the chancellor, was disbanded.
A Raj Bhavan source said in the wake of the varsity not providing its senate nominee despite repeated directives, Khan may ask the two-member panel’s convenor to issue a notification seeking applications from VC hopefuls.
The varsity’s refusal to heed Khan’s ultimatum comes even as he sits on the University Law (Amendment) Bill which proposes to increase the committee’s strength to five by adding one nominee each of the government and the higher education council. This aims to give the government more leverage in the VC selection.
Fearing action, vice-chancellor calls meeting
On his earlier directive asking for its nominee, the university had written back saying the formation of the search committee without the senate’s representative was legally untenable. Though the university senate had reportedly chosen Planning Board member V K Ramachandran as its nominee, the decision was not conveyed to the Raj Bhavan, apparently to ensure the governor does not get leverage in VC selection.
Meanwhile, VC Pillai is learnt to have convened a meeting of the syndicate to discuss the matter on Tuesday amid reports that the Raj Bhavan was contemplating action against him for not abiding by the governor’s directions.
THREE-MONTH DEADLINE
VC selection has to be completed within three months of forming the search committee. It can get a one-month extension if it does not meet the deadline.