VC appointment: Teachers’ body raises concerns over SC’s interim orders

Kozhikode: Confederation of University Teachers' Organizations of Kerala (CUTOK) has written to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) raising concerns over the the interim orders issued by the Supreme Court in the case related to the appointment of vice-chancellors (VC) of Kerala Technological University (KTU) and Digital University of Kerala (DUK). In the letter, CUTOK general secretary Sabin George has requesting recall of the two orders stating that the most recent order of the apex court dated Dec 11 has created a situation wherein the honourable court has taken over the right to appoint the VC and has directed the committee headed by retired Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia to provide a single name for appointment. The letter added that it goes far beyond the scope of a judicial intervention. "We are directly approaching the CJI as the interim orders issued by the bench headed by Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice K V Viswanathan will have far reaching consequences in the future of higher education in the country if not interfered with urgently," the letter said. It added: "There are clear provisions in the concerned Acts of the universities and the UGC Regulations, 2018 with regard to the appointment of VCs of the universities. Throwing all that to the dustbin and finding its own means of appointing VCs of the university has created much embarrassment within the academic community we represent. We request that these orders be recalled with immediate effect to avoid further issues in the matter." The letter said that it is to ensure the autonomy of the universities in the country and ensuring that they are out of the clutches of the govt that the governor, who is the highest constitutional authority of the state by virtue of his office, is placed as chancellor of the state universities. It further added that the Supreme Court itself, in several recent judgement, has made it very clear that the appointments shall be carried out in strict compliance with UGC regulations. CUTOK said that the role assigned to the chief minister in the order dated Aug 18 is beyond the scope and ambit of the state Act as well as UGC regulations. "Submitting a ranked list takes away the independence and discretion vested in the chancellor of the university," it said.