Governors Are Appointed As University Chancellors As Per State Laws, Centre Tells Lok Sabha

In a response to an unstarred question by Congress legislator Adoor Prakash, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Annapurna Devi clarified, "Governors are appointed as Chancellors in the State Universities as per the provisions mentioned in the respective University Act, which is enacted by the State Legislature. However, recently, in some States, some other Constitutional authority have been proposed as Chancellor, by bringing out legislative changes in the Act."

Earlier this month, after a protracted political confrontation spanning several weeks between the Left Democratic Front and the Kerala governor, Arif Mohammed Khan over the appointment of vice-chancellors to 14 state universities, the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government tabled University Laws (Amendment) Bills in the assembly to amend the statutes governing state universities and remove Khan as the chancellor of the universities.

The feud had its origins in a decision of the Supreme Court to set aside the appointment of Dr Rajashree M.S. as the vice-chancellor of the A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technological University in Kerala owing to the non-compliance with stipulations of the University Grants Commission, particularly a provision mandating that the search committee constituted to recommend the appointment of the vice-chancellor must furnish the names of three suitable candidates. Following this, Governor Khan asked for the resignations of 11 other vice-chancellors on the ground that the government had appointed them through the same process deemed unlawful by the top court.

Meanwhile, elsewhere as well, particularly in the states of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, the appointment of vice-chancellors continues to be a source of contention. In June, the West Bengal Assembly passed a law designating the chief minister as the chancellor of state universities, which was returned by the then governor, Jagdeep Dhankar, who had often locked horns with the state administration over a number of issues. In October, a bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, as he was then, observed that the Bengal government had usurped the powers of the governor while re-appointing Dr Sonali Chakravarti Banerjee as the vice-chancellor of Calcutta University.

In Tamil Nadu, similar bills were passed in April with the objective of abridging the powers of the governor in appointing vice-chancellors of 14 state universities. However, the bills have not yet received the approval of Governor R.N. Ravi, who has been accused by the state administration of obstructing this measure.

In her parliamentary reply, the minister also highlighted Clause 7.3 of the University Grants Commission (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment of Teachers and other Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and other Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education) Regulations, 2018, which lays down both the eligibility criteria and the process of appointment of vice-chancellors. The Congress member of parliament had also asked whether the Union government had any plans to intervene in this matter. "This Ministry has not received any reference from the State Government of Kerala on the matter," Devi responded, likely in response to this question.