Kottayam: The members of the Senate and the Syndicates of the Universities should function beyond political considerations when they assume office, said Governor P Sathasivam.
Addressing the third meeting of the chancellor’s council at the MG University here on Friday, he said continuous performance-monitoring initiated by the council, which was formed in 2014, had produced good results within a span of three years. Four universities in the state — CUSAT, University of Kerala, Calicut and Mahatma Gandhi — have figured in the National Ins-titutional Ranking Frame-work constituted by the HRD ministry.
Governor P. Sathasivam lamented that the top positions in many of the universities were lying vacant due to legal entanglements. He asked the institutions to take speedy action to get favourable verdict in the cases. The governor urged the higher education institutions to work together to prevent sexual harassment on campuses, drug abuse, ensure gender equality and provide disabled-friendly amenities. Blood donation should be encouraged by maintaining a blood donor registry in the universities and affiliated colleges, he said.
Later, responding to reporters’ queries on the confusion over the revision of the syllabus of the MG University’s commerce stream, he said the members of the senate and syndicate should function beyond political considerations. Recalling his experience, he said though he maintained political connections while working as a lawyer, he stopped them when he became a judge. He said that the governor will not intervene in the appointments of the vice-chancellors in the state. The appointments of governors are conducted on the basis of a list prepared on the basis of merit and qualification. Among the 13 universities in the state, the VCs’ posts in the Kerala Veterinary University, Kerala Kalamandalam Deemed University, Kannur University and the Sree Sankaracharya University, Kalady, are lying vacant.
In two places, there are legal disputes whereas in the other places the procedures for appointing the VCs are progressing.
Referring to the efforts he had taken to solve the law academy issue, he said that there should be an academic-friendly atmosphere in the universities.
The MG University VC has the authority to solve the issue related to the syllabus and those who hold an opposite view could approach the courts, he said. Addressing the council meeting, Education Minister Prof C. Raveendranath requested the VCs to re-engineer the research processes to produce pro-poor, eco-sensitive and society-friendly knowledge. Knowledge produced using state-of- the-art technologies should be disseminated for progress in the competitive world. The interest of the scholars should get prime concern, he said.
Dr Davendra Kumar Dhodawat, secretary to the Governor, Dr Usha Titus, higher education secretary, Dr Babu Sebastian, host Vice- Chancellor and joint registrar B. Radhakrishna Pillai spoke. The VCs of 13 universities made presentations at the meeting.
