Kerala University owes its crisis to syndicate's ignorance of act and statutes
This statutory ignorance is the root cause of the crisis of the Kerala University. In truth, syndicate members have no individual authority outside their collective role. At the same time, the vice-chancellor is the sole chief executive and academic head of the university.
Kerala University, the first in the state, has long upheld the false convention of treating syndicate members as individual authorities. Under this illusion, members have enjoyed undue privileges — such as private offices — believing themselves to be like "ministers" in a university "cabinet," despite having no individual portfolios or administrative powers.
Members may serve on standing committees related to academics, administration, examinations and other areas, but these are meant to aid syndicate decision-making faster and do not confer executive authority. Such roles require small meeting rooms, not personal offices. Legally, they are entitled solely to temporary accommodation, whether on campus or elsewhere at the university's expense.
Syndicate members are often nominated from various constituencies and may be academically outdated or politically backed individuals, lacking the expertise or vision needed for university growth.
by Taboola
by Taboola
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Many are unfamiliar with even the basic University Act and Statutes. But when members aligned with the ruling party form a caucus, they may promote narrow agendas. Interestingly, real politicians like MLAs or MPs who serve on syndicates rarely engage in such behaviour.
As members, they can protest against the vice-chancellor, but by risking their benefits, responsibilities, the functioning of the university and the justice owed the stakeholders. However, even their unanimous decisions, unless presided over by the vice-chancellor, are legally void. In cases of insubordination, registrars must be aware that their statutory powers ultimately depend on the vice-chancellor's discretion.
An academically strong vice-chancellor aware of his power as responsibility will struggle to uphold academic standards and maintain a productive relationship with the syndicate.
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