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National Importance, Polity & Governance
Mahesh

13/01/25 09:04 AM IST

Draft rules on VC appointments

In News
  • Several states have objected to provisions in The UGC (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment and Promotion of Teachers and Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education) Regulations, 2025.
Appointment of VCs
  • Regulations notified by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in 2018 said that a search-cum-selection committee comprising eminent persons in higher education shall shortlist 3-5 candidates by public notification, nomination, a “talent search process”, or a combination of these processes.
  • The Chancellor – or Visitor in a central university – appoints the VC from among the recommended names.
  • In the case of state and private universities, one member of the search-selection committee is nominated by the UGC Chairman. For state universities, the rest of the committee is constituted in accordance with state law.
  • The Kerala University Act, 1974, for example, says the VC will be appointed by the Chancellor “on the unanimous recommendation of a committee appointed by him consisting of three members”, one elected by the university Senate, and one each nominated by the UGC Chairman and the Chancellor (Governor).
  • Central universities – there are 56 currently – are established under an Act of Parliament, and are administered by the Centre. The Visitor, their ceremonial head, is the President of India.
  • The composition of the committee to appoint the VC of a central university is determined by the Act that governs the university. For the University of Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University, for example, the committee has two nominees of the university Executive Council, and one of the Visitor.
New Regulations
  • The draft regulations say “the Chancellor/ Visitor shall constitute the Search-cum-Selection Committee comprising three experts.” The 2018 regulations did not specify who would constitute the committee.
  • Unlike the 2018 regulations, the new regulations specify the composition of the committee: a member each nominated by the Visitor/ Chancellor, the UGC Chairman, and the apex body of the university (Senate/ Syndicate/ Executive Council). This gives nominees of the Centre the majority in the committee.
  • Besides professors, individuals at senior levels in industry, public policy, public administration, or public sector undertakings, can also become VCs, says the draft.
Source- Indian Express

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