Tamil Nadu: State Government, Not Governor, To Appoint VCs From Now On; Here's How That Can Affect Higher Education

On 25 April 2022 the Tamil Nadu Assembly passed a Bill empowering the state government to appoint the Vice Chancellors of thirteen state universities. The main objective is to replace the existing system of the Governor of the state appointing them in the capacity as the Chancellor.

During the discussions, the Chief Minister MK Stalin had noted on the floor of the House that the state needs to be empowered to select the VCs and not doing so would create a big impact on higher education. The Minister of higher education was candid when he admitted that while the Governors used to consult the state governments before appointing the VCs during the earlier periods, there has been a change in the approach over the past few years.

In the present system, whenever there is a vacancy in a university, the search committee appointed for this purpose collects the details from the desiring applicants. After analysing them, it selects three names and forwards the list to the Governor. The Governor in turn will select one person out of it and appoints him/her as the VC.

The selection of members of the search committees is not the sole prerogative of the Governor. In many universities the Governor does not have any role in it, while the state has the right to have its nominees. It is true that in a few universities the state government does not have the right to have its direct nominees.

The members of the search committees are selected by the academics, government officials, educationists and other representatives who form part of the syndicate, senate and other similar bodies of the concerned university. But the state governments in TN over the years have always used to exert their influence through the higher education secretary and other means in all the universities.

The issue of the appointment of VCs became a topic for discussion in public only during the recent periods, after many vigilance cases and court proceedings. In one instance, a former VC of Bharathiar University was caught red-handed in his official residence while getting money. In another instance, a former VC of Anna University was sent to jail in corruption case.

Many VCs of the state universities such as TN Agricultural University, Periyar University, Law University and Anna University are facing cases charges relating to corruption, disproportionate assets and irregularities. Such VCs were serving in different universities across the state. So the issue is not confined to two or three institutions. Besides, the successive VCs of the premier technical university situated right in the capital city of the state are facing serious cases.

This was mainly because of the indiscriminate appointment of VCs by the ruling parties based on considerations other than merit. The situation was very bad particularly during 2006 - 2016. As a result, the relatives of ministers such as son-in-law, daughter-in-law and those with political and monetary connections could only become the VCs.

As a result, there was complete politicisation of the VC appointments. The situation went to such an extent that around 10 VCs went and met Mrs Sasikala, the former chief minister Jayalalitha’s aide, during December 2016 after the demise of her mentor a few days earlier. They also pleaded with Sasikala to take over the mantle of the party leadership. One of the member of the team of VCs was the convener of the search committee for selecting the VC for Anna University constituted earlier.

A few days later on 24 December, a group of 22 concerned citizens consisting of former VCs, senior academics, bureaucrats and others wrote to the Governor condemning the meeting. The dignitaries included the highly respected former VC of Anna University Dr M Ananthakrishnan. In their letter, they noted that the “VCs behaved like ruling party cadres.”

They also pointed out the root cause for the problem when they said that the “UGC norms for VC selection are completely ignored in public universities in TN and there is a strong perception that caste, political connections and of course, huge sums of money are the decisive criteria”.

Therefore, they appealed to the Governor to see that, among other things, the “UGC norms be strictly incorporated in the statues of all the universities for appointment of search committees as well as that of VCs” and “set in motion complete transparency and objectivity in the constitution of the search committee and selection of VCs”.

The present Chief Minister who was in the opposition at that time insisted that action should be taken against the VCs who met Sasikala to prevent “politicisation of the office of the VCs and belittling the dignity of the autonomous status of the universities of the state.”

Earlier during 1994 the Jayalalitha government passed a legislation in the TN Assembly for taking over the power to appoint the VCs, similar to the one passed now. But in 1996, the DMK government led by Karunanidhi, withdrew it saying that it was against the interests of the independence of the universities.

Interestingly, the DMK government led by Stalin now, has come out with this legislation. The main problem for them now is that the Governors appointed by the Modi government are honest and firm. They follow the rules in letter and spirit and don’t compromise with the state governments. Those in the academic community know that it is only during the last few years, VCs are appointed on the basis of merit. Hence there is a new confidence in the academic circles.

It is unfortunate that Tamil Nadu has the notorious reputation of having perhaps the highest number of VCs and higher authorities of universities in the entire country facing prosecution agencies and court cases. The state has also witnessed the successive education ministers going to court on corruption charges in the recent years.

Those who were appointed as VCs through the wrong means during the earlier periods, threw the rules and regulations away to the winds. They made all attempts to make appointments, from the office staff to the Professor and the Registrar, through unfair means. They devised several innovative methods such as opening of new departments and bifurcating the existing ones only to create more opportunities for appointments. Besides they were all the time involved in irregularities in all the different activities of the universities, with the intention to make money.

All these would change when the VCs selected as per the rules begin to act in a fair manner with determination. The present Governor is maintaining his independence as the Chancellor and appointing VCs on merit. So there is new hope for the higher education system in the state. But apparently the DMK does not want this to continue.

TN higher education system has major issues to be addressed. Selection of faculty and staff in different universities and colleges should be made only through fair means. There should be congenial atmosphere for serious teaching and research. Right now there is lot of politics and groups with vested interests in universities. The role of the state government is critical in all these aspects.

While the National Education Policy is opening up new avenues and funds are being made available by the centre, TN is not fully geared up to grab the opportunities. It is time for the authorities in the TN higher education system to understand the realities and re-orient themselves for a complete overhaul of the system based on transparency and merit.

In this connection, the appointment of VCs by the state government would further bring down the quality of higher education, when the TN universities are already finding it difficult to recover from the misdeeds of the earlier periods.

The educationists, academicians and all those concerned with the system should join together to raise their voice for a healthy higher education system in the state. Meanwhile, the Governor should be requested to not to forward the Bill to the President of India for assent.

(The writer had earlier served in the syndicates of TN universities)

Also Read: Pages From History: An Attempt At Atmanirbharta In Education In Colonial Tamil Nadu