THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The cabinet meeting approved the draft ordinance amending the current provisions for appointing a search committee for the appointment of VC in the Digital University. It was also decided to recommend to the Governor to issue the ordinance. The amendment is in sub-sections (3), (4) and (6) of Section 11 of the University Act. The ordinance will come into force only after the Governor signs it.
There is currently a five-member search committee with the Chief Secretary as the convener. The amendment has replaced the Chief Secretary with a representative of the Higher Education Council as the convener. There will also be representatives of the Chancellor, UGC, University Board of Governors and the Science, Technology and Environment Council.
Apart from the Chief Secretary, the current committee includes an expert in the field of electronics and IT, a member of the Board of Governors, and a representative of the UGC and the state government. The Chief Secretary and the government representative are being excluded because the Supreme Court has ordered that no one associated with the government should be in the search committees.
It was also stipulated that the age of those appointed as VCs, which is currently 61 years, can be up to 65 years. An amendment has been made to the effect that the Governor can appoint a person recommended by a majority of the members from the panel provided by the five-member search committee as the VC. The government explained that the amendment is in accordance with the UGC rules and recent court orders. The Governor had appointed Dr. Ciza Thomas as the interim VC the other day. The government's decision for the ordinance follows that.
Governor may not sign