Mysuru: The Search Committee meeting to shortlist the Vice-Chancellor (VC) candidates for the University of Mysore that was to be held today (May 22) at the UGC office in Delhi, stands cancelled and the next meeting indefinitely postponed.
As a result, the wait for the appointment of the new Vice-Chancellor to the hundred-year-old University is getting longer. The sources in the University told Star of Mysore this morning that the meeting, when it happens, will be held in Bengaluru.
One of the Search Committee members, who is the Governor’s nominee, is said to have written to the Governor taking exception to the meeting being held in Delhi. The Governor’s office, in turn, has written to the Higher Education Department to cancel the meeting and instead hold it in Bengaluru.
The two Search Committee members from Delhi Prof. Hari Gautam and Dr. V.S. Chauhan, who had insisted on the meeting being held in the UGC office in Delhi are learnt to be upset about the latest development and may even resign from the Committee. If this happens a new Committee will have to be constituted again, said the sources.
All this will lead to the search for the new VC getting longer. “There is no coordination between the Government and the Governor’s office and this is causing all the problems. It is a sad state of affairs that a reputed University in the country has to wait for so long to have a Vice-Chancellor,” regretted a professor in the University, who though is eligible for the VC post, has refused to apply citing such uncertainties as the reason.
One of the members, who was in the earlier Search Committee candidly told Star of Mysore on condition of anonymity, “Our role as Search Committee members is minimal. Many candidates come to us with the hope of influencing us. However, the reality is that the Government will have already decided on the candidates. Only in extraordinary circumstances where the aspirant is very good can we suggest the name. Considering the calibre of the candidates now-a-days we just do not have even that luxury.”
The tenure of the Vice-Chancellor is for four years and when one reaches 67 years it ends. Hence, there is the possibility for the professors who are 63- years-old to apply. However, if they are a day older than 63, it is said, they cannot apply. In that case two Professors, one from the Chemistry Department and another from Kannada in the University of Mysore, who have both applied will become ineligible, said the source.
Out of more than 150 applicants, 12 names have been shortlisted at the meeting held on May 12 in Bengaluru, said a source. There are a few who have applied who do not fulfil the criteria like completing ten years as Professors. There is also a candidate who is strongly tipped to be the Vice-Chancellor not having a Ph.D.
The Vice-Chancellor’s post has been lying vacant since Prof. K.S. Rangappa completed his term on January 10, this year. Prof. Yashwant Dongre was in charge for six weeks and from February 20, Prof. Dayanand Mane is officiating as the in-charge VC.
The Search Committee headed by former VTU Vice-Chancellor Prof H.P. Kincha has three other members — former UGC Chairman Prof. Hari Gautam, UGC Member Dr. V.S. Chauhan and Central University Vice-Chancellor Prof. H.M. Maheshwaraiah.
What if t he proposed meeting of the Search Committee stands cancelled? Heavens will not fall, if the selection of the new VC is delayed a few more weeks, if in consequence thereof, the Committee is able to shortlist better candidates. If Prof. Gautam and Prof. Chauhan put in their papers over the issue of the venue of the meeting, the Committee may have to be reconstituted. One hopes the Committee would be provided with all the relevant inputs (including the background of the applicants) in order to eliminate tainted candidates, lest skeletons tumble out of their closets at a later stage, when the shortlisted candidates are sent to Raj Bhavan, as the Governor-Chancellor has the last word on the issue.
Given that the University has been in the eye of a storm, one hopes the Search Committee is able to find a disinterested outsider for the post who alone would be able to function independently of the previous regime without becoming a ventriloquist’s dummy. There have been too many stories of sleaze in the past. Is it too much to hope the Governor finds the right man for the job?
If Cancellation of the search committee meeting at New Delhi s is squarely due to the irresponsible journalism by SOM who stoked the fire being writing some innuendo some time back on this subject and raised bogey of a PIL !
The whole exercise appears to be to see two respected and independent Search Committee with a mind of their own being rendered horse de combat !
It is sad commentary of the caliber of Search Committee members when you quote an one such worthy who says it is a sham and they hardly have any say ! It is such spineless people who have made things come to such a pass!
That is what happens when university professors shamelessly turn careerists and pursue an agenda of self –
-aggrandisement, going around begging for plum posts and seek favors from power-holders. It is an index of the decline of moral values and professional standards amongst university professors who keep latching on to the tails of senior ministers instead of concentrating on their teaching and other academic activities. This is specially the case with most of the social science departments as a result of which students are denied quality teaching as professors are busy running around frequently to New Delhi and the State capital in pursuit of their
“promotional” agenda. It is time canvassing for the post of VC must be declared a disqualification. And all the more reason an eminent OUTSIDER who is relatively insulated from political and social pressures is appointed to uphold the dignity of the post!