Damocles sword hangs over head of Vice-Chancellors in Andhra Pradesh

KAKINADA: The position of Vice-Chancellors, appointed by the previous Telugu Desam government in state universities, has become precarious, as there is a campaign launched to ensure that they are sent out from their posts soon.

People with vested interests have filed Public Interest Litigation Petitions before the court, questioning their appointments. The PILs’ contention was that they had been appointed without following procedures and norms of the University Grants Commission.

Already four V-Cs — Prof. Rahamtulla (Srikrishna Devaraya University), Prof. Y. Sudhakar (Dravidian University), Dr. Rajendra Prasad (Srivenkateswara University) and Prof. P. Ramachandra Raju (IIIT) have tendered their resignations, after the YSRC government came to power in the state. According to sources, some of the registrars and also rectors were forced to tender their resignations, after the new government’s arrival.

Sources said that a question had arisen about whether the principal decretary should be a member in the search committee which appoints the V-C of a university. A PIL filed said that the principal secretary should not be included as a member in search committee as he is a member of executive council of the universities. The previous government has denied the allegation and said that the principal secretary of technical education may be included as a member in the committee.

But, now, the new government does not agree with the argument. The petitioner Malireddy Venkataraya Phaneendra who filed the PIL against the appointment of V-Cs of JNTU-K M. Ramalinga Raju and JNTU-A S. Srinivasa Kumar said that there was a separate law for JNTU-K and JNTU-A for appointing V-Cs, but the appointment had been made under the law of the state universities and many UGC  violations had taken place in the appointments.

He further alleged that these vice chancellors' appointments had been made with purely political influences, and not by considering the merits and talents of the professors.

Several academicians have also found fault with the political interferences in the appointment of Vice-Chancellors. There should not be political meddling in educational institutions and academic appointments should not be influenced by political considerations, they said. The professors in universities should be torch-bearers and they should show the path to the students. They said that these appointments should not be considered as nominated posts to fill up political unemployment for their party workers or leaders.

They said that the governments should protect the interests of educational institutions and give inspiration to others.