Nearly one month since governor refused to discharge duties as Chancellor; governor remains firm on stance, govt not calling for consensus

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as Governor Arif Mohammad Khan reiterated that he will not continue as the Chancellor unless he receives an assurance from the government that it will not interfere in the affairs of universities, the state government's attitude towards the issue is making the situation more complicated. With the governor refusing to discharge duties as the Chancellor, the administration of 13 universities in the state has been in limbo for nearly a month. At present, the Raj Bhavan is not accepting any files related to the universities. However, neither the Chief Minister nor other ministers are trying to reach a consensus with the governor. On the other hand, the opposition is demanding the resignation of the governor instead of demanding solutions for the irregularities pointed out by the governor.

Though Raj Bhavan has forwarded the files sent by the universities for immediate decisions to the Secretariat, the files are only getting piled up with no decision being taken. Neither the Chief Minister nor other ministers have the authority to make decisions that are meant to be taken by the Chancellor. The government has instructed that no more files should be sent to the Secretariat.

The governor had reappointed Dr Gopinath Raveendran as the Kannur University V-C for four more years on November 24, the first in the state’s higher education sector history, despite the government constituting a search committee to select a new candidate. Khan later pointed out that the government pressurized him to sign the re-appointment order. According to him, the re-appointment was against the norms of the UGC. Despite the governor reiterating that the re-appointment of the VC was illegal, the government has not demanded the VC's resignation.

The governor pointed out that courses could not be started at the Sree Narayana Open University for the second year due to the non-appointment of teachers. He also said that the government did not take any action to fix the salary of the Open Univesity's VC. The governor had returned the single name nominated by the government for the post of VC of the Sanskrit University. Following this, he demanded that a search committee must be formed and a panel of three names must be given. However, no action was taken in this regard. Complaints that the Higher Education Department was not considering letters sent by the Chancellor were also ignored.

Cases are crucial, appeal in Kannur VC re-appointment case on Jan 12

The High Court will consider the appeal in the Kannur VC re-appointment on January 12. The government says it will take further action after the court announces its stand. The governor has forwarded the notice sent by the High Court to the Chief Minister's office. However, the government cannot respond to the notice.

The governor had given the affidavit last week in the Kannur University Board of Studies case through a special counsel. Considering this, the court said the appointment was illegal.

The government will find itself on the defensive if the governor submits an affidavit stating that he was put under political pressure. The letter written by the governor to the Chief Minister will reach the court as evidence to show that the governor was pressured to issue the order against the law.

Re-appointed VC Gopinath Raveendran will have to step down from his post if it is proven that he has crossed the age limit as per the University Act. The High Court said that it wanted to know the position of the Chancellor, the appointing authority, and not the position of the government or the university.