Jan 08, 2025 04:00 AM IST
Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin criticizes new UGC rules as an attack on federalism, says will legally challenge governor’s control over vice chancellor appointments.
The new University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations granting governors broader control over appointments of vice chancellors (V-Cs) and allowing non-academics to hold these posts are a direct assault on federalism and state rights, said chief minister MK Stalin on Tuesday amid the on-going tussle with governor RN Ravi on the issue.
At least five state run universities in Tamil Nadu are without a vice chancellor due to this standoff between the governor and government. In 2022, the state had passed a bill in the assembly to clip the powers of the governor to appoint a V-C and vest it with the government.
Stalin said that Tamil Nadu will fight it legally and politically. “This authoritarian move by the Union BJP government seeks to centralise power and undermine democratically elected state governments,” Stalin said on X. “Education must remain in the hands of those chosen by the people, not dictated by Governors acting at the BJP government’s behest.”
This came after the UGC draft guidelines were released by Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday for faculty recruitment, promotions in higher education institutions, opening V-C positions to non-academics.
“Tamil Nadu, which leads the nation with the highest number of top-ranking HEIs (higher education institutions), will not stay silent as our institutions are stripped of autonomy,” Stalin added on X. “Education is a subject under the Concurrent List in our Constitution, and hence we consider that the move of the UGC to issue this notification unilaterally as unconstitutional. This overreach is unacceptable, and Tamil Nadu will fight it legally and politically.”
There has been a tug of war between governor Ravi and the DMK government on the matter of including a UGC nominee in the search committees to finalise a vice-chancellor. Besides Anna University, there are no V-Cs in the University of Madras, Bharathiar University, Madurai Kamaraj University and Tamil Nadu Teacher Education University.
Though the universities are funded by the state government, the governor, as the chancellor, gets to appoint the V-Cs. The issue escalated in December 2024. Ravi had asked the state government to recall its notification dated December 9 over a search committee constituted for the post of vice chancellor for Annamalai University, saying that since it does not include a nominee from UGC and it violates directions of the Supreme Court. In response Tamil Nadu’s higher education minister Govi Chezhian said they have followed rules per the concerned laws of the state universities.
The governor’s search committee comprises nominees of – the chancellor, Government of Tamil Nadu, syndicate of the university and the UGC chairman. The governor had directed the state government to notify the constitution of the search committee of Annamalai University on October 25 in 2024, consisting of the above four members, with the chancellor’s nominee as the convener of the committee. The higher education department in a government order on December 9 in 2024 notified the committee.
“The said notification issued by the government is in difference to the search committee constituted and is void ab initio; being contrary to the existing UGC regulations and prevailing orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India,” the Raj Bhavan said at the time.
The state government responded that it is the governor who has arbitrarily appointed a fourth nominee to the search committee. “Every university operates by its specific set of bylaws,” the higher education minister said in a statement at the time. “The UGC will communicate to us directly if there is anything to be communicated. It is not appropriate for the governor-chancellor to block actions taken by the state government.”
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