Varsity education in turmoil

Tirupati: In an unprecedented move, at least four Vice-Chancellors were made to resign in three months after the new government took office in state ringing alarm bells in university education, which has already been in shambles and direction less.

In all, a dozen universities are having in-charge Vice-Chancellors including Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS) while the Department of Higher Education has recently given notification to fill the posts in seven universities and even appointed search committees to select eligible candidates.

The process may take at least another three months and these universities will have to continue with in-charge VCs only till then.The Executive Councils of all universities were also abolished by the government and no policy decisions on various academic, administrative and financial matters can be taken till the system is restored back to normalcy.

Even though Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has directed the officials to appoint search committees by July end, the process was delayed. Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam in Tirupati is being officiated by in-charge Vice-Chancellor since October 25, 2018.

Though, the previous government had appointed V-Cs for SV University, SK University and Dravidian University in February this year, they were put under extreme pressure by various means to tender their resignations after the new government came into power.

Two IAS officers were now officiating as in-charge VCs of SVU and SKU, a Professor of Dravidian University Dr G Lokanatha Reddy was given full additional charge (FAC) as VC of the university. While in-charge VCs cannot take certain decisions, VC with FAC can discharge all duties like a regular VC, said a former VC.

Apart from VCs, Registrars and Rectors of several universities are also in-charges only. The appointment of academic consultants was delayed by almost three months in S V University and even after completion of the process it has drawn huge criticism from disappointed and ousted candidates.

The decision to allow academic consultants to guide PhD candidates in SPMVV was being criticised by many academicians. The in-charge VCs have to confine themselves to day-to-day work only.

The previous government has conducted written test to fill the teaching vacancies in varsities but did not take up the appointment process. There are 1,840 vacancies of all cadres in conventional universities and it was decided to fill 1,440 in the first phase.

The process went into cold storage and the government did not make any announcement on the future of qualified candidates. For more than a decade no recruitment has taken place in universities and the class work was being shared by academic consultants along with the available faculty.

A senior academician felt that a serious introspection is required on the future of university education. He said that the universities have been politicised by all means. There is a need to choose right persons for the office of VCs to promote higher standards. But, this may not become a reality by seeing the hot beds of politics in universities and no light could be seen at the end of tunnel, he observed.