Koshyari sets up search committees to select Mumbai, Pune VCs

The search committee for the selection of the MU vice-chancellor will be headed by former University Grants Commission (UGC) chairman Dr D P Singh

Mumbai: Maharashtra governor and chancellor of universities Bhagat Singh Koshyari has constituted separate search committees for the selection of vice-chancellors to the University of Mumbai (MU) and the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU). The previous committees appointed by the state cabinet were dissolved by the chancellor’s office in November 2022.

Professor Pramod Kumar Jain, director, Indian Institute of Technology, Benaras Hindu University, Anand Limaye, additional chief secretary (home) and Prof Suresh Kumar, vice-chancellor of the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad (UGC nominee), are on the search committee for the selection of the MU vice-chancellor. (HT PHOTO)

The search committee for the selection of the MU vice-chancellor will be headed by former University Grants Commission (UGC) chairman Dr D P Singh while the search panel for the SPPU vice-chancellor will be headed by former AICTE chairman Dr Anil Sahasrabudhe.

Professor Pramod Kumar Jain, director, Indian Institute of Technology, Benaras Hindu University, Anand Limaye, additional chief secretary (home) and Prof Suresh Kumar, vice-chancellor of the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad (UGC nominee), are on the search committee for the selection of the MU vice-chancellor.

Abhay Karandikar, director, IIT, Kanpur, Deepak Kapoor, additional chief secretary, irrigation department, and Dr Meena R Chandawarkar, former vice-chancellor of Karnataka State Women’s University Vijayapura (UGC Nominee) have been named as members of the search committee for the selection of the SPPU vice-chancellor.

The term of MU vice-chancellor Suhas Pednekar ended on September 10. Shivaji University vice-chancellor Digambar Shirke has been holding additional charge of the post.

The term of SPPU vice-chancellor Nitin Karmalkar ended on May 18, 2022. Karbhari Kale, vice-chancellor of the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University, Lonere, has been holding additional charge of the post.

Last year, the Maharashtra cabinet decided to amend the Maharashtra Public University Act, 2016, as per the 2018 University Grant Commission (UGC) guidelines. The UGC regulation mandates that one member of the Search-Cum-Selection Committee is nominated by the UGC Chairman for selection of vice-chancellors. Many states, including Maharashtra, had not been adhering to this requirement.

On November 14, the Kerala high court quashed the appointment of a VC to a university on this basis. Following this judgment, the Maharashtra government took cognisance of the UGC guideline and decided to amend the Act. After the ordinance of amendment was issued by the government, new committees were appointed. Now the governor has appointed separate search committees for the selection of the MU and SPPU vice-chancellors.