The Rajasthan government plans to bring a bill that will enable it to transfer or remove vice-chancellors of state universities, a move criticised by academics and opposition leaders as an attack on the autonomy of these institutes.
The Congress-led government proposed to bring a bill in the assembly to amend acts of state universities to take into its hand the power to transfer or remove vice-chancellors in case of any impropriety, a senior official in the education department said on condition of anonymity.
If it is tabled and passed in the budget session of the assembly that begins from June 27, Rajasthan could be the first state in the country to have such an act.
The Congress government since coming to power has courted controversy over its decision to effect changes in the syllabus by downgrading right-wing heroes such as Veer Savarkar and Maharana Pratap.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have been accusing the government of distorting history and targeting those ideologically aligned to saffron education outfits.
BJP leader and former state education minister Vasudev Devnani said if the government was going to bring this bill, it was undemocratic and an attack on the autonomy of universities.
“The government should consult with academics and other political parties before bringing such an act,” Devnani said.
“The government move is an attack on the autonomy of universities. It is politically motivated as they want to remove VCs appointed by the BJP,” JP Singhal, a former VC and national president of the Akhil Bharatiya Rashtriya Shaikshak Mahasangh, said.
The Mahasangh is an RSS affiliate.
He said the move won’t augur well in the long run. “The BJP will do the same thing when it comes to power. Universities will become political playgrounds. We will oppose this.”
Rajiv Gupta, former head of sociology department in the University of Rajasthan, criticised the move.
“Such an act will destroy academic autonomy, which is the core principle of higher education. The government wants V-Cs to act on lines dictated by them,” Gupta said.
Since each of the 26 state universities is governed by its own act, the bill will be an overarching one, amending acts of all the varsities to insert the enabling provision to remove a vice-chancellor in case any impropriety.
In any such case, a probe will be instituted and, if found guilty, the V-C will be removed by the governor in consultation with the government, the official said.
In Rajasthan, V-Cs are appointed by the governor in consultation with the government for a fixed term of three years or 70 years, whichever is earlier. There is no provision regarding their removal from office, the official said.
He said the move is necessitated due to cases of impropriety by some V-Cs.
The appointment of the V-C of Maharishi Dayanand University in Ajmer has been stayed by the court after a PIL pointed to financial irregularities allegations against him during his previous tenure in Uttar Pradesh.
“Technically there is a V-C but in practice, he is unable to function and that is affecting the university administration. To overcome this situation the government wants to have the power to remove V-Cs,” the official said.
He said there had been similar cases against V-Cs in universities in Jodhpur and Udaipur.
Asked if this would allow government interference in universities that are meant to be autonomous, the official said there would be checks in place.
“If any such case comes to light, there will be an independent inquiry and if any impropriety is proved, then the VC will be removed by the governor after consultation with the government.”
First Published:
Jun 21, 2019 14:28 IST
Source: HindustanTimes