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Rajasthan contemplating bill to empower state govt to appoint vice-chancellor
A committee headed by former Vice Chancellor of Jai Narayan Vyas University, PC Trivedi, has recommended that vice-chancellors should be appointed by the chief minister.
JAIPUR: In a bid to clip the wings of the governor, the Rajasthan government is considering bringing a bill empowering the chief minister to appoint vice-chancellors (VC) in 28 state universities, people familiar with the matter said.
After Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Telangana, Rajasthan will be the fifth state to bring such a bill. The West Bengal government led by Mamta Banerjee is also working to make the chief minister the chancellor.
A committee headed by former Vice Chancellor of Jai Narayan Vyas University, PC Trivedi and having JP Yadav, V-C, Alwar University and AK Nagawat, director Skill University, as members has submitted a draft of the bill to the Rajasthan government.
A person familiar with the development said the committee has recommended that vice-chancellors should be appointed by the chief minister and role of the governor should be of a visitor, as there is of the President of India in central universities.
He said the committee has also suggested that like Banaras Hindu University and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi, the state should also have a separate chancellor for each university.
“The draft defines the specific role of the chancellor and VC,” he said.
The draft says that well qualified experts should be appointed as vice-chancellors such as a doctor be considered for a medical university and a retired chief justice or judge for a law university.
In addition to appointment of chancellors and V-Cs, the committee has suggested that the education minister should be appointed as the pro-chancellors to ensure effective coordination.
Prominent people such as Padam Shri awardees, Lok Sabha members, members from the alumni and corporate houses should be considered for members of the university governing body, the official said.
“The recommendations in the draft aren’t political but an initiative for better selection and appointment. If the V-Cs are appointed by the CM then the accountability will be fixed by the government. Currently, over a dozen V-Cs are from outside the state and mostly from Uttar Pradesh, which is the home town of Rajasthan governor Kalraj Mishra,” the official said.
On the need of a new law, the official said, there is no uniformity in appointments in universities. “In some universities, law-makers are appointed as governing council members for a year and in some for three years. Also, the number of government nominees varies in universities. The new law will provide for uniform and transparent regulation for all state universities,” he said.
Another official familiar with the development said having a law would ensure uniformity in selection and qualifications of the V-Cs. “It would also ensure that the government and vice-chancellors are on the same page on important issues,” he said.
Commenting on the development, deputy leader of opposition and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajendra Rathore said such development is against the legislature and an attack on university autonomy.
