Administration suffers as Kerala Governor and VCs fight over appointments

Universities in Kerala are fast moving into an administrative crisis, considering the ongoing rift between the chancellor (Governor Arif Mohammad Khan) and the vice-chancellors, which is getting worsened day by day.

The Kerala University senate, which convened on November 4, passed a resolution that the university is not willing to nominate a member to the search committee (for appointing the V-C) unless the chancellor – the state’s governor — starts the process afresh.

Universities question governor’s powers

The Kerala University senate has taken the position that nominating a member to a search committee that has already been constituted is a futile exercise that does not confine with the law — the Kerala University Act.

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A few kilometres away, at the Technological University (APJ Abdul Kalam University), a group of students and staffers strongly protested the chancellor’s nominee, Cisa Thomas, who was given the temporary charge of the VC. The reason was similar to that of the Kerala University senate – ‘The chancellor is acting arbitrarily without following the statute’. According to the staffers and students of the Technological University, the chancellor does not have the authority to select a person of his choice under law.

The Governor, on the other hand, sent a letter to the President complaining that the chief minister’s recent trips abroad were not communicated to him. According to the sources in the Raj Bhavan, the letter, which was sent on October 13, 2022, alleged that the governor was not informed of CM’s travel, nor passed any information on the delegation of authority to any other members of the cabinet.

The Governor wrote to the President that he wanted to interact with the CM’s office regarding the issues raised by Dayabhayi, the 82-year-old activist who staged a protest for the ‘Endosulphan victims’ in Kasargod. However, the Governor could not do so as he was not informed to whom the chief minister had delegated his authority in his absence.

Seven out of nine VCs, who were served with a show cause notice by the chancellor to show the reason for not removing them (on the basis of the Supreme Court’s judgment that cancelled the appointment of the VC of the Technological University), refused to submit their explanation and moved the high court. The VCs challenged the very legality of the notice saying the relevant Acts do not expressly provide any provision empowering the chancellor to do so.

HC to look into legality

However, the single bench of the high court refused to get into the merit of the question, but asked the VCs why not they give a reply to the chancellor. The deadline to give an answer was extended till November 7, after which the court would consider the question of law involved in the matter.

The current crisis is the manifestation of a longstanding conflict between the chancellor-governor and the state government regarding the appointments in state universities. The appointment of the VC of the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University was declared void ab initio by the Supreme Court, citing procedural errors in the appointment. According to UGC regulations, one person has to be chosen by the chancellor from among a panel of members submitted by the search committee. But only one person was nominated by the search committee of the Technological University for appointment as the V-C.

Citing this judgment, the chancellor issued a notice to V-Cs of nine Kerala universities to tender resignation within a few hours. However, this unusual demand law was struck down by the high court and the chancellor-governor then issued show cause notices to the V-Cs.

The VCs argue that the relevant Acts, under which each university is constituted do not empower the chancellor to do so. In other words, the Chancellor has to explain where he derives these powers to issue show cause notices to the V-Cs. The high court said that such questions would be addressed later.

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Tough times ahead

It is getting clear that it is not going to be easy for the chancellor to expel the sitting VCs and appoint someone of his choice. “Even if the sitting VCs are removed from their positions, the chancellor has to comply with University Acts for appointing new VCs. In current circumstances, this will certainly take time,” says a member of the senate committee of Mahatma Gandhi University, one among the nine who was asked to go.

Moreover, the Supreme Court’s finding that the UGC regulations would override the state Acts if there is an inconsistency is subject to review. The state Acts need to be amended according to the final judgment of the apex court. All these proceedings would take time, which would only unsettle the administration of the universities on a daily basis.

Interestingly, Arif Mohammad Khan, who blames the government and the universities for ‘not abiding by UGC regulations in appointments’, himself is not following the statutes in taking decisions. For example, the nomination of Cisa Thomas as the VC in charge of the Technological University is allegedly a violation of the law. According to Section 13(7) of the Technological University Act of 2015, “if a vacancy of the vice-chancellor arises, the chancellor may appoint the vice-chancellor of any other university or the pro-vice-chancellor of the same university or the secretary to the government of the higher education department for a period not exceeding six months”.

Thomas, who has been appointed by the chancellor as VC in-charge, does not fall into any of these categories. “She is a senior joint director in the department of technology with the government. By no stretch of imagination can she be selected as the VC in-charge,” says Sumesh Divakaran, a faculty member of the Engineering College Thiruvananthapuram and the State Council member of the Kerala Gazetted Officers Association (KGOA).

KGOA protest

KGOA was on strike in protest against the chancellor’s appointment of a person not eligible according to the relevant section of the University Act.

The resolution adopted by the senate committee of Kerala University also cites that the governor-chancellor is acting against the law. By notification issued by the governor-chancellor on August 5, 2022, a two-member search committee was formed. The Kerala University senate was instructed to nominate its representative to this committee, which is illegal according to the resolution passed by the senate.

The resolution states that this notification violates Section 10 (1) of Kerala University Act of 1974, which stipulates that the committee to make recommendations for the appointment of the V-C should consist of three members. “The chancellor formed a two-member committee at his will, later we are asked to nominate a member. This is not what the law says,” a faculty member of the university told The Federal.

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Governor’s moves

According to sources, Arif Mohammad Khan has already prepared a list of senior professors in Kerala to replace the existing VCs. “He had asked for the list from each VC well in advance of the Supreme Court case challenging the appointment of the VC of the Technological University,” a faculty member of one of the concerned universities told The Federal. It has been assumed that the chancellor has been making preparations to handle this scenario well in advance.

Arguments and counter-arguments go on, and the day-to-day administration of the universities is taking a backseat. The University of Kerala got A++ ranking with 3.67 grade points in NAAC accreditation in June 2022. The government of Kerala is in the process of implementing the recommendations of the report of the higher education commission for improving the quality of education.