Recently the Vice chancellor’s selection in India faces overregulation, political interference, and limited innovation, hindering global rankings. UGC’s draft regulations and NEP suggest reforms but lack true autonomy for universities.

Excessive Control in Vice Chancellor Appointments

• Court Critiques VC Eligibility: The Madras High Court’s observation in Kalyani Mathivanan (2015) that even Albert Einstein might not meet the qualifications for a VC role in India highlights the rigidity of the current system.
• UGC’s Rigid Criteria: As per UGC regulations introduced in 2010 and revised in 2018, a VC must be a distinguished academician with at least ten years of experience as a professor or equivalent.

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Recent Draft released by UGC for Vice chancellor Appointment

• Broadened Eligibility for VCs: The new draft UGC regulations propose a welcome expansion of eligibility criteria to include distinguished individuals from fields like industry, public administration, and public policy. 
  • For instance, diplomats like G. Parthasarathy and K.R. Narayanan, as well as bureaucrats such as Syed Hamid and Mehmoodur Rehman, led universities like Jawaharlal Nehru University and Aligarh Muslim University with distinction.

Challenges Associated with Selecting Vice Chancellors

• Political Influence in Appointments: The appointment of VCs in India is often swayed by political preferences rather than merit.
  • Historically, Congress-led governments have favoured left-leaning candidates, while current administrations opt for ideologically aligned individuals.
• Undermining VC’s Role: This politicisation undermines the role of a VC as a bridge between academic and administrative wings.
• Erosion of Autonomy: VCs in central universities are appointed by the President, acting on the Centre’s advice, which undermines institutional autonomy through government control.
  • This was exemplified by the Supreme Court judgment in Dr. Premachandran Keezhoth (2023), which clarified that the President acts as a statutory authority rather than a constitutional head in such decisions. 
• Disparity in Selection process: Central universities follow clear protocols for VC selection, while in state universities, appointments are made by the governor rarely on his own except in Opposition-ruled states.

Lessons from Global Practices

• West and Parts of Africa: In the West and parts of Africa, governments play a minimal role in VC appointments, allowing institutions to tailor leadership choices to their unique needs.
• Asia: In contrast, a 1996 Commonwealth study revealed that 55% of Asian universities rely on government-appointed VCs, with only 27% enjoying full autonomy.
• Versatile Leadership in the West: By contrast, Western universities, such as Oxford, have appointed individuals like John Hood, a businessman, as their head, demonstrating the value of versatile leadership over purely academic credentials.

Issues with Draft Regulations

• Lack of Autonomy: The draft regulations fall short of the ideal of giving universities autonomy in selecting their VCs. 
• Limited Representation: The proposed three-member search committee has one nominee of the UGC chairman and the other nominee of the chancellor/visitor. 
  • The university’s executive council/syndicate etc. will have the right to nominate just one member

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Way Forward

• Proposed VC Selection Committee: Ideally, three nominees should come from the university, one from UGC and the other from the President/Chief Justice as a visitor or the Governor as chancellor.
• Student centric governance: By empowering universities, the focus can shift from VC-centric governance to student-centric development. 
• Recommendations of Kothari Commission: According to the commission VC should have Vision and academic leadership, Administrative ability, High societal respect and Commitment to university values

Conclusion

Reforming the VC selection process is crucial for Indian universities to achieve academic excellence and gain global recognition.