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Punjab passes bill to replace governor with CM as chancellor of state universities
The government’s move comes in the backdrop of a simmering tussle between the governor and chief minister over a raft of issues even after the Supreme Court counselled both to uphold the constitutional protocols
The Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Tuesday passed the Punjab University Laws (Amendment) Bill 2023 unanimously, vesting the powers of chancellors of 12 state-run universities with the chief minister as ex-officio head, curtailing the governor’s power.
Punjab became the fourth state to take this controversial decision after West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Taking part in the discussion on the matter, chief minister Bhagwant Mann said that the state has rich culture, traditions and heritage which need to be perpetuated amongst the younger generations, and for this, educational institutions, especially, universities can play a pivotal role.
“The governor, who is not from the state and is not aware of its history and culture, is empowered to appoint the VCs, which creates unnecessary hurdles and is unfair,” Mann said.
The government’s move comes in the backdrop of a simmering tussle between the governor and chief minister over a raft of issues even after the Supreme Court counselled both to uphold the constitutional protocols.
“The chief minister of Punjab shall be virtue of his office be the chancellor of the university,” reads the amendment. In total, there are 32 universities in the state, out of which 20 are privately run.
Mann and governor Banwarilal Purohit have been at loggerheads for the past several months over several issues, including the procedure followed by the state government for the appointment of two vice-chancellors. The bill is on the lines of the one passed by the West Bengal government in June 2022 to remove the governor and install the chief minister as chancellor of the state-run universities in his place.
A row had erupted between the state government and the governor in October last year after the latter raised questions over the procedure followed for the appointment of vice-chancellors of the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) and Punjab Agricultural University (PAU).
In his capacity as the chancellor of the BFUHS, Purohit first rejected the state government’s move to appoint cardiologist Dr Gurpreet Wander as the new vice-chancellor and asked for a panel of three candidates. A week later, the governor asked the CM to remove Dr Satbir Singh Gosal from the post of PAU V-C, terming his appointment ‘illegal’.
The bill, passed today, would lead to amendments to Punjabi University Act 1961; the Guru Nanak Dev University Amritsar Act 1969; the Jagat Guru Nanak Dev Punjab State Open University Act 2019; the Sri Guru Teg Bahadur State University of Law, Punjab Act 2020; IK Gujaral Punjab Technical University Act 2014; the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Technical University Act 1996; the Shahed Bhagat Singh State University Act 2021; the Sardar Beant Singh State University Act 2021; the Baba Farid University of health sciences Act 1998; the Guru Ravidas Ayurveda University Punjab Act 2009; the Maharaja Bhupinder Singh Punjab Sports University Act 2019 and the Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University Act 2005.
SAD’s Dr Sukhwinder Sukhi supported the bill and demanded that teachers on a regular basis should be recruited in the colleges and schools of the state. Replying to it, the minister for higher education Harjot Bains said that the government has started a process for regular appointment of teachers at all levels, adding that since 1997 no regular appointment of teachers was conducted in the state and the colleges were managing the shortfall with the help of guest lecturers.
Mann said instead of being pro-Punjab, the governor took a contrary stand. Citing the Panjab University issue, the CM said, “Instead of safeguarding the interests of Punjab and Punjabis, the governor had been taking the stance in favour of Haryana to allow its entry in the senate of the university.”
He added that on lines of the bill already passed by West Bengal, the Punjab government has formulated this bill which will entrust the powers of the chancellor of the universities to the chief minister.
The house also passed the Punjab Affiliated Colleges (security of service) Amendment bill 2023, amending the Punjab affiliated college (security of service) Act 1974 to streamline the working of the educational tribunal and to bring in provisions in conformity with the working of the central or state administrative tribunal.
