Vice-chancellors divided over unified universities Act

KOCHI: Even as the committee headed by National Judicial Academy director K.N. Chandrasekhara Pillai appointed by the Higher Education Council is understood to have recommended a unified Act for the varsities in the state, the differences of opinion of the vice-chancellors on this surfaced  in the recent conclave in Kochi.
  The VCs of the main universities  batted for it in their presentation  before chancellor and governor  Justice P. Sathasivam at  the conclave. Their main apprehension  was regarding the differing size of the syndicates and the powers of the syndicate and the senate where politicians are calling the shots and political interests are troubling them.
   Andhra Pradesh already has a unified Act while Tamil Nadu is also mulling over it. However, the VC of a specialised university suggested  that a unified Act would not be able to address the different character of the universities which evolved from their chequered history.
 The VC said that in the case of specialised universities, a number of syndicate seats could  be reserved for reputed people in that field. Such issues could  be covered only by the Act. “So a broad framework law on the lines of the ICAR model law for all universities can be formulated,” the VC said.
Experts point out that several leading foreign universities have separate charter and statutes. “Bringing a unified Act may not help in the process of triggering excellence. In fact, what we need are  Acts that do the groundwork for making each university one of the best in the world,” said the VC