VC appointment: Priority was to resolve uncertainty in universities, says Kerala minister

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 17 (PTI) Kerala Higher Education Minister R Bindu on Wednesday said a final decision on the appointments to two state-run technical universities was taken to end prolonged uncertainty that had seriously affected the day-to-day functioning of the institutions.

"Universities in Kerala are excellent centres of learning. The government’s prior consideration was to resolve the uncertainty through vice-chancellor appointments, as directed by the Supreme Court," she told reporters here.

"The government and the governor have come to a final decision on the appointment of the VCs of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU) and Kerala University of Digital Sciences. The decision was made considering the uncertainty that had disrupted the daily affairs of the universities," she said.

Bindu said students suffered due to delays in the appointments and expressed hope that the new VCs would address long-standing issues in the universities.

The minister added that the state government had made multiple initiatives to settle the VC appointment issue, which was finally resolved after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s recent meeting with Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, following the Supreme Court’s directive.

Bindu expressed hope that VC appointments in other universities would also be completed without hurdles.

She also criticised the proposed Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill in Parliament, saying it crosses basic regulations governing universities under the concurrent list.

"The Bill allows for imposing huge fines if directions from the higher education commission are not followed. It blatantly violates the autonomy of state-funded universities," she said, adding that the state would organise awareness drives against the Bill.

Her remarks came a day after the appointments of vice-chancellors to KTU and the Kerala University of Digital Sciences were announced.

According to a statement, Dr Ciza Thomas has been appointed as Vice Chancellor of KTU, while Dr Saji Gopinathan was named VC of the Kerala University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology.

The appointments came days after the Supreme Court intervened to break a prolonged deadlock between the governor and the chief minister over the issue.

Last week, the top court noted that repeated efforts to resolve the stalemate in VC appointments had failed.

Observing the continuing deadlock, a committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia was asked to recommend one name for each post.

A bench comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan directed the committee to submit its recommendations in a sealed cover.

The court noted that despite exchanges of letters and meetings between the government and the chancellor, no consensus had been reached. The bench said it was "unfortunate" that the stalemate continued and decided to step in to ensure appointments were made.

The dispute arose over disagreements on the role of the chief minister in the selection process and objections raised by the governor to some names recommended by the state government.

The issue led to litigation in the Kerala High Court and later the Supreme Court, with both sides accusing each other of delaying the appointments. The Supreme Court had earlier warned it would intervene if the CM and the governor failed to resolve the matter amicably. PTI NDN LGK SSK