R N Ravi Asserts Constitutional Validity of Search Committees for VCs
Chennai:Countering Governor R N Ravi’s defense of all his actions in connection with the constitution of search committees to identify new Vice Chancellors for the various State universities, the State Minister for Higher Education Govi Chezhian said the government would challenge him in a court of law.
While the Governor’s insistence on the State government including a nominee of the UGC chairman in the search committees and refusing to approve the panels formed has led to a stalemate in the appointment of Vice Chancellors, Ravi claimed on Friday that he had acted within the ambit of Constitutional and legal provision.
Reminding the Governor of the State having a tradition of fighting for its language rights and education rights through struggles, the Minister said Ravi should give up his partisan politics and not poke his nose into the affairs of the universities just because he was the Chancellor.
The States were not bound to go by the recommendations of the UGC as the search committees were formed as per the rules of the universities, Chezian clarified, adding that it was regrettable that the Governor had not changed his ways even after the courts had asked to refrain from interfering in the State’s affairs.
The Governor, however, said his decision aligned with the ethos of academic independence that was critical for fostering excellence and innovation in higher education and claimed to have constituted the alternative search committees himself to ensure a fair and impartial selection process.
He said the press release issued by the Minister on Thursday was misleading and a distortion of facts and the notifications issued by the State Government on the search committees did not adhere to existing UGC regulations and the latest prevailing orders of the Supreme Court.
Any selection by a Search Committee constituted without UGC Chairman’s nominee was bound to be quashed by the Courts, he said, while the Minister, in his statement, pointed out that the Governor was only keen on roping in the UGC chairman’s nominee in the search committee and not bothered about the step motherly treatment meted out to the State by the UGC in allocation of funds.
The role of the Vice Chancellor was pivotal in shaping the future of universities and students and it was not in the interest of students to keep the post of Vice-Chancellor vacant, said Ravi, who had refused to approve the search committees constituted by the Government to find VCs for Anna University, Bharathidasan University, and Periyar University.
While the Governor is insisting on including the UGC chairman’s nominee in the search committees, the Minister’s claim is that the panels have been formed on the basis of the rules and regulations concerning the particular university.
If the dispute between the Governor and the State government was not resolved immediately leading to the continuation of the stalemate, 11 of the 13 State universities in Tamil Nadu will be soon functioning without a VC.
