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Kerala House clears bill to replace Governor as chancellor of varsities
The Kerala assembly on Tuesday passed a bill to replace the governor as chancellor of all state universities with top academics, ratcheting up the state government’s ongoing face-off with Raj Bhavan and joining a string of other states such as Tamil Nadu and West Bengal that have tried a similar move.
The Kerala assembly on Tuesday passed a bill to replace the governor as chancellor of all state universities with top academics, ratcheting up the state government’s ongoing face-off with Raj Bhavan and joining a string of other states such as Tamil Nadu and West Bengal that have tried a similar move.
The University Laws (Amendment) Bill that was introduced last week stipulates that a search committee be constituted by the government and senate of the varsity, which will then appoint eminent academicians as chancellors of each of the universities. The Opposition boycotted the proceedings over the government’s refusal to take into consideration its suggestions.
The bill, which had undergone scrutiny by a subject committee of the House, was passed after hours long discussions during which the Congress-led UDF said it was not opposed to the removal of the Governor as Chancellor.
The development came amid an ongoing tussle between the Pinarayi Vijayan government and governor Arif Mohammed Khan over the appointment of vice-chancellors in state universities.
“The University Laws (Amendment) Bill is passed,” speaker A N Shamseer said.
It is unlikely that governor Khan will give his assent to the bill and may refer it to the President. In the past, he has said that he “cannot judge a legislation which is intended to question his Constitutional obligations.”
The Raj Bhavan did not react to the passage of the bill till the time of filing this report.
The bill marks a new turn in the months-long standoff between the state government and the Raj Bhavan that began in December 2021, when the elected administration sought to bypass Khan in appointing vice-chancellors to state universities. The tussle intensified in October after Khan asked 11 vice-chancellors to resign. This came after the Supreme Court quashed the appointment of the V-C of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University for being contrary to University Grants Commission (UGC) norms. The matter is pending in the high court now.
On Monday seven V-Cs arrived at Raj Bhawan to explain their part as asked by the Governor. On Tuesday the apex court has turned down the deposed Technological University VC’s revision plea.
During the proceedings on Tuesday, opposition parties extended their support to replacing the governor as chancellor but sought the inclusion of retired judges of the high court or Supreme Court in the selection panel instead of nominees of the government. They raised concerns that only Left-leaning academicians may be appointed, thereby affecting the autonomy of the institution.
The House witnessed a long discussion as state law minister P Rajeev asserted that retired judges cannot be members of the selection panel and suggested the speaker would be a better option.
“The opposition should have supported it but it was waiting for an opportunity to walk out. The bill is aimed at protecting the interest of the state and its higher education sector,” Rajeev said.
The opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) remained unconvinced and staged a walkout.
“We agreed to the move to replace the governor but the alternate move should be more transparent. The speaker is always from the ruling party and we wanted retired judges in the selection panel,” opposition leader V D Satheesan said, adding the new arrangement will do more harm than solving any issue.
In West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, the respective state assemblies have passed bills similar in nature taking away the power of the governors to appoint vice-chancellors in state universities as head of these institutes. The governors of these states are yet to decide on the bills. The Telangana government is also likely to introduce a similar law in the winter session of state assembly taking away powers of the governor to appoint vice-chancellors in state universities.
On Monday, the chief minister and his council of ministers turned down a Christmas party invite by Raj Bhavan.
