THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The governor said that interim VCs who do not comply with the directive to appoint varsity representatives to form a search committee to select eight VCs will be sacked. The governor has given a month's time because the varsities have not taken action despite asking in writing five times. The move is to change the temporary VCs if the Senate and Syndicate meeting is not convened and the search committee representative is not appointed by then.
Kerala, MG, CUSAT, Kannur, Malayalam, Technical, Agriculture and Fisheries varsities do not have permanent VCs. The varsities did not provide a representative to the search committee after the government made a fuss. The Governor cannot form a search committee without a varsity representative. The High Court had quashed the two-member committee of Kerala Varsity which had been formed otherwise. The search committee representative is to be provided by the Senate in MG, Kannur and Agricultural Universities and by the Syndicate elsewhere. Kerala VC Dr Mohanan Kunnummal has called a Senate meeting on the 16th as per the instructions of the Governor.
Since permanent VCs could not be appointed, senior professors have been given the charge of VCs. The VCs are bound to obey even the verbal instructions of the Chancellor. Therefore, the appointing governor will be able to remove those who do not follow his instructions from the post of VC.
The Governor is going to sack the VCs of Calicut, Sanskrit, Open and Digital Universities due to irregularities in the appointment. With this, there will be 12 varsities without VCs.
Empowering the governor
No VCs for years
Agriculture-----------2022 October
Technical-------------2022 October
Kerala----------------2022 October
Fisheries-------------2022 November
Malayalam-----------2023 February
CUSAT---------------2023 April
MG-------------------2023 May
Kannur---------------2023 November
"It is unlawful to act at the order or interest of another."
-Supreme Court (Kannur V.C. Case)