New university law soon in Telangana

Hyderabad: The new legislation to govern state universities, modelled on the Gujarat law introduced when Mr Narendra Modi was Chief Minister, could become operational in two to three months, if there is no opposition. The Telangana State Universities Bill is expected to be introduced in the ensuing Monsoon Session of the Assembly.

Sources said that the law department is close to completing the draft of the Bill which is expected to come up for discussion before Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, after Deputy Chief Minister Kadiam Srihari returns from his United States visit next week.

Vice-chancellors will be appointed as per the new Act, which means it will take about three to four months. The Gujarat University Laws (Amendment) Act, on which the TS legislation is being framed, was recently approved by Gujarat Governor O.P. Kohli. The Telangana state government wants to strip the Governor of his powers as chancellor of varsities and is considering the Gujarat law as the model for that purpose.

“The Gujarat law vests powers with the state government. Because of this, we don’t expect the Narendra Modi government at the Centre or the UGC will create obstacles,” said a top official of the TS education ministry.

There were suggestions from some quarters that stripping the Governor of his powers as chancellor would be against national norms. Officials said that the proposed law will give the state government complete powers over state universities in all aspects including policy matters. The Governor will not be the ex-officio chancellor; instead an academic will be appointed as chancellor.

The state government will have the power to appoint vice-chancellors directly, as also members of the Executive Council, hiring of staff and transfers. Basically, the functions of the chancellor are to be performed by the government if the proposed legislation comes into effect.