THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The governor is targetting the Vice Chancellors of the Kannur and Kerala Universities by announcing a judicial inquiry to find irregularities in university appointments. Earlier, the governor had come out against the re-appointment of Gopinath Ravindran as Kannur VC. He even expressed his willingness to step down as chancellor after being pressured to issue an appointment order. His grudge towards Kerala VC VP Mahadevan Pillai is because the VC ignored his suggestion to grant D Lit to the then President Ram Nath Kovind.

The Chancellor can even fire both of them if irregularities are found. A judicial inquiry is usually announced before such drastic measures. The governor is likely to forward all complaints he received to the judicial committee. According to the new rules of UGC, all teaching appointments in universities are based on interview marks. The appointment is made by a committee chaired by the VC. This committee is also decided by the VC. According to UGC's 2010 rules, educational qualification, academic excellence and marks in interview were to be considered for teacher appointment. UGC changed this in 2018. As per UGC's changed rule, candidates with academic excellence can be called for interviews on the basis of cut-off marks. Universities can set cut-off marks as per their choice. Eligible candidates will be interviewed by the VC's committee based on their marks. There are many complaints before the Chancellor that there were lapses on the part of the VCs in these steps.

The Raj Bhavan is of the opinion that Kannur VC went ahead with the appointment process despite being aware of nepotism in the case of the Chief Minister's private secretary's wife. The governor can take action against the VC if this is found out in the judicial investigation. The governor may act against the Kerala VC for bringing a resolution against the chancellor in the senate.

The government will have to pay the expenses of the judicial commission appointed by the governor to find irregularities in the universities. The governor will issue instructions to the government.