The higher education sector in Kerala is on a downward slope. The thirst for higher posts and the egomaniacal attitude of officials thrive in government colleges, where the future of students looks badly compromised. Many government colleges run deficient with the principal post left void for years. When talks got big about the colleges functioning with no principals, the government tried inducting left apologists who have no qualifications to boast of.

Previously, the government tried to douse all the allegations regarding backdoor appointments by assigning an expert panel to interview the applicants for the principal post. The move was promising from a usually dithering government. Out of the 110 applicants, 43 got shortlisted by the expert committee. The list got approved wholly by PSC and all the processes were carried out in abidance with UGC-held guidelines. But in an attempt to topple the whole process, the government issued a notice asking for any complaints about the PSC-made list. This was an unprecedented move from the government It requires no morse code to realize that the government's intrusion into the UGC accepted list was to simply kowtow to the not-so-happy comrades.

According to the UGC set norms, an experience of 15 years as a teacher is mandatory for applying for the principal post. Engaging in other cultural activities or joining NSS for environmental works shall never fall under experience, a court ordered recently. It should be purely teaching or nothing else, that comes in what the UGC termed experience. Recently, the court dismissed many VCs from their post marking a start to the bitter feud between the governor and the government. The court upheld the governor’s decision of dismissing the VCs who made it to the top spot with some work but definitely not on merit.

The political discourse in Kerala also went aflame when it was found that many of the relatives of ministers and other officials occupy responsible posts in the higher education sector. The government trying to fit unqualified left apologists into the revered institution is a common song now. But on some measure, the government is hard-pressed by critics now, and the public has also found the nerve to question back. The people and the qualified ones need an explanation or the government will endure some devastating many months ahead.