Thiruvananthapuram: Arif Mohammed Khan, Chancellor of universities in the state(kerala), has ordered that the Vice Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University (MGU) shall also perform duties of the VC of Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University.
The notification regarding the additional charge of Malayalam University given to Dr. Sabu Thomas (VC of Mahatma Gandhi University) was issued on Saturday, the Kerala Raj Bhavan said.
The move comes just days after the Governor, acting as Chancellor of universities in the state, opposed the state government’s decision to constitute a search committee for the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the Malayalam University.
The Governor, in a letter, had questioned the legality of constituting a search committee by the state government.
The Malayalam University, named after Thunchath Ezhuthachan, known as the father of Malayalam language, is at Tirur in Malappuram district.
The Chancellor’s office had said that Khan’s response came after the state government repeatedly asked to suggest his nominee to the committee.
As per the sources, the state government had constituted the committee based on the University Act (Amendment) Bill, which grants it the authority to appoint vice chancellors of universities.
However, that Bill is still pending with the Governor, who is yet to give his assent to make it a law.
The Governor, in his letter, had said that currently there is no law granting authority to the government to form a search committee.
The term of the former VC of Malayalam university, V Anil Kumar has ended on February 28, 2023.
According to the University Act, a search committee comprises a nominee of the Chancellor and a representative each of the government and the University Grants Commission (UGC).
However, the government had decided to constitute a five-member committee that also included nominees of the university Syndicate and the Kerala State Higher Education Council (KSHEC).
(To receive our E-paper on WhatsApp daily, please click here. To receive it on Telegram, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)
