Appointed temporary VC in Technical University by taking future of students into account; Governor in High Court

KOCHI: Governor Arif Mohammad Khan clarified in the High Court that there was no legal defect in the appointment of Dr Ciza Thomas as the temporary VC. He also said that the appointment was made by taking into account the future of the students.

The Governor gave the explanation as the Chancellor on the petition filed by the government against the appointment of Dr Ciza.

Dr Ciza was given the additional charge of VC so that the issuance of the degree certificate would not be delayed due to the absence of VC. The Governor also informed that the petition filed by the Additional Secretary of Higher Education against the Governor's notification will not stand legally.

Justice Devan Ramachandran adjourned the plea to November 23 after the advocate general informed that the government need time to respond to the Governor's explanation.

Governor's explanation
The temporary appointment became inevitable as the Supreme Court annulled the appointment of Technical University VC Dr MS Rajasree. The UGC rule is that when the VC changes, the Pro VC also changes. Hence, the Pro VC cannot be given a temporary charge. The government had recommended that Digital University VC Dr Saji Gopinath be given the charge of VC. The recommendation was not accepted as his appointment was in doubt. The government then recommended handing over the charge to the Principal Secretary of Higher Education. This recommendation was rejected by taking into account the UGC norms and autonomy of the university and the Supreme Court judgment that the VC should be an expert in the field of education. The Governor then directed the Director of Technical Education to provide a list of professors with more than ten years of teaching experience in engineering colleges. However, it did not provide the list despite repeated requests. Following this, Dr Ciza Thomas, Senior Joint Director of the Directorate of Technical Education was appointed on merit.