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The Hindu
15-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Govt. to submit panels for appointing interim V-Cs at KTU, DUK
The State government has expedited steps to submit its panels of nominees to be considered for appointment as interim Vice-Chancellors of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU) and Digital University Kerala (DUK) in light of the Kerala High Court order on temporary Vice-Chancellors. The Higher Education and the Electronics and Information Technology Departments, which oversees the universities respectively, have commenced steps in this regard. Higher Education Minister R. Bindu said the panels will be submitted to the Governor at the earliest. 'The Governor should be ready to adopt necessary action in a democratic manner,' she told media persons on Tuesday. She added that any approach where the State government is denied any say in appointing Vice-Chancellors is autocratic. The Raj Bhavan, on the other hand, is mulling over moving the Supreme Court to 'seek clarity' in the judgement. While it has been examining legal advice on the matter, the Raj Bhavan could raise the contention of University Grants Commission Act and its regulations having precedence over State university laws. A counsel could also be sought on the criteria of appointing temporary Vice-Chancellors, sources said. The Raj Bhavan had appointed K. Sivaprasad and Ciza Thomas as Vice-Chancellors in-charge of KTU and DUK respectively on November 27 last, ignoring the panels submitted by the State government. The Higher Education Department had put forth a panel comprising Senior Joint Director of Technical Education Jayaprakash P., former KTU Registrar A. Praveen and former Syndicate member Vinod Kumar Jacob. In the case of DUK, the Electronics and Information Technology Department had submitted the names of Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment Executive Vice President K.P. Sudheer, former KTU Vice-Chancellor M.S. Rajasree and former Calicut University Vice-Chancellor M.K. Jayaraj for the top post.
Time of India
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
SEP: Recommendation to regulate deemed varsities sparks debate
Chennai: In its recommendations for State Education Policy (SEP), the high-level committee headed by Justice D Murugesan has recommended that deemed universities in the state be regulated. This recommendation has, however, stirred up a debate as academicians said deemed universities were established under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, and state govts cannot regulate them. As per the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), there are 35 deemed universities functioning in the state. These institutions have an approximate intake of more than 60,000 students in undergraduate courses. There were complaints that a few of them are providing substandard education while some are enrolling students who could not clear engineering exams in affiliated colleges and awarding them degrees. "A regulatory body with the powers to regulate 'deemed to be universities' should be put in place," the Justice Murugesan committee said in its 550-page report to the govt. "The regulatory body should have the power to regulate the admission procedure, including admission of a fixed percentage of the total intake of students from Tamil Nadu in each course, fee structure that may be determined by the fee committee, emolument structures for teaching and non-teaching staff as decided by the state, adopting the reservation policy of the state and the allied issues," it said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trade Bitcoin & Ethereum – No Wallet Needed! IC Markets Start Now Undo "It is to provide education for the downtrodden, marginalised, and suppressed sections of the society from the state," the panel said in the report. It also suggested bringing a separate act by the name 'Tamil Nadu Higher Education Institutions (Private) Registrations Act' and conditions for the grant of a no-objection certificate to deemed universities. "Deemed universities are functioning like uncontrolled entities. Except for academic autonomy, the state govt should have a say in admissions, fees, and other issues," a source in the high-level committee said. Academicians say the state govt cannot regulate deemed universities that were established by UGC Act. Representatives from the deemed universities said only UGC can prescribe guidelines to the institutions. "State govt can interfere only with law and order issues. For any academic and regulatory issues, they cannot interfere with the deemed universities," Anna University former vice-chancellor E Balagurusamy said. "NBA and NAAC accreditations by deemed universities show they follow certain regulations. State govt has no power to control them," he added. Madras University former vice-chancellor S P Thyagarajan concurred with this view. "State govt cannot control the deemed universities as far as academic and administrative functions," he said.
