NEW DELHI: The draft guidelines on faculty recruitment and promotions in higher education released by the University Grants Commission (UGC) last Monday sowed seeds of a new political battle between states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala on one side, and the Centre on the other. However, if compared with the June 30, 2010 gazette notification on the same, nothing seems to have changed in the appointment process of vice chancellors (VCs) of higher education institutions.
The bone of contention has been the states’ claim that the new regulations will give chancellors (governors) greater control over VC selection. While Kerala described the draft regulations as “an overreach by the central govt, rendering states powerless in the higher education sector,” TN chief minister M K Stalin announced plans to legally challenge the governor’s authority over VC appointments. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had alleged that the UGC draft regulations, 2025, give state governors extensive control over vice-chancellor appointments and allow non-academics to hold these posts and termed it a “direct attack on federalism and state rights”.
In response, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan Monday attacked the Congress, accusing it of “selling lies” about the draft recruitment norms rolled out by the UGC and said the practice of governors appointing university VCs has been going on even before Independence.
As per the 2010 regulations the search committee would comprise of “a nominee of the visitor (President in case of central universities)/ chancellor (governor in case of state university), who should be the chairperson of the committee; a nominee of the chairman, UGC; a nominee of the syndicate/ executive council/ board of management of the university.” It further said that “the visitor/ chancellor shall appoint the VC out of the panel of names recommended by the search committee.”
The same has been retained in the proposed regulations of 2025 without any changes. As far as chancellor’s role as the head of state university, as per the “Report of the Education Commission (1964-66)” also popularly known as “Kothari Commission” and as well as the recommendations from report of the committee of inter university board, both are of the view that appointment of VC’s should be made by the chancellor in “his individual judgment and not by the state govt.”
Stating that the Congress which is unwilling to support youth education and national progress, is trying to confuse and mislead the youth, and fostering unrest, Pradhan in a pointed rebuttal said: “Whether it is UGC Regulations 2010, 2018 or the current UGC Regulations of 2025, it is clear in all that the chancellor/ visitor appoints the vice chancellor….,” and “The selection committee structure of UGC Regulations 2025 is actually the format of UGC regulations 2010. In this, a selection committee has been formed for the appointment of teachers and other academic staff and to maintain high standards,” as the minister accused that Congress even has a problem with the National Education Policy “which has been wholeheartedly accepted by all sections of the country including the youth because it has elements of Indianness. This is the same party which weakened the Indian education system and worked to erase our glorious cultural heritage from the textbooks while being in power for decades…”
