Malayalam University: Ruckus over formation of search committee to find Vice Chancellor, Governor raised questions on the government

Malayalam University VC Controversy: Governor Arif Mohammad Khan has questioned the validity of the search committee set up by the Kerala government for the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor of Malayalam University. After this, this matter turned into another controversy. In a letter to the state government, Khan questioned the Left government's move and said it had no right to do so. The Malayalam University, named after the father of the Malayalam language, is at Tirur in the Malappuram district.

The chancellor's office said Khan's response came after the state government repeatedly asked the committee to suggest its nominee. Sources said the state government has constituted the committee based on the Universities Act (Amendment) Bill which empowers the government to appoint vice-chancellors of universities.

However, that bill is still pending with the governor, who has not yet given his assent to make it a law. The Governor said in his letter that at present there is no law empowering the government to constitute a search committee. Last week, some ministers of the state government met the governor and discussed the bills pending before him. The tenure of the current Vice-Chancellor V Anil Kumar will end on February 28.

As per the University Act, a Search Committee consists of a nominee of the Chancellor and a representative each from the Government and the University Grants Commission (UGC).

However, the government decided to constitute a five-member committee which also included nominees of the University Syndicate and the Kerala State Higher Education Council (KSHEC).

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