What does the SC verdict against Governor R.N. Ravi mean for universities in Tamil Nadu?

With the Supreme Court ending the logjam between Governor R.N. Ravi and the M.K. Stalin government by giving assent to the 10 bills pending with the governor, the stalemate over the appointment of vice-chancellors to nine out of 22 state-run universities has come to a close. 

“The bills have become acts now. So the governor will not have any role to play in the appointment of the vice-chancellors to the state-run universities,” advocate P. Wilson told THE WEEK. 

While the governor will be the chancellor of all the 22 state-run universities, his role will be largely ceremonial as will be stripped of all his powers. Seven out of the 10 bills which were given assent by the Supreme Court and subsequently notified in the gazette are with regard to the functioning of the universities run by the state government. These bills replace the term “governor” with “government.” 

At present, 12 universities in Tamil Nadu are functioning without vice-chancellors—the Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU), Anna University, University of Madras, Bharathiar University, Periyar University, Bharathidasan University, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Agricultural University, Teacher Education University, Annamalai University, Tamil University in Thanjavur, and Physical Education and Sports University. With regard to the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, the VC’s term was extended by a year and it also ended recently. 

Out of these 12 universities, MKU and Madras University are in a serious financial crunch. Madras University doesn’t have funds even to pay the salary of its staff or the retirement benefits to the faculty who retired after 2017. The bills terming “governor” as “government” have led to several questions over the appointment of a VC and the selection process is expected to begin soon. 

“The state government used to have a search committee and send a list of recommendations to the governor who is the chancellor. The governor will usually choose one of the names from the list and appoint him or her as the vice-chancellor. After Ravi came, he never used to consult. He himself held interviews and made appointments, and the government lost its control of them. Now the government can constitute their own committee. The assembly has powers,” says educationist Jayaprakash Gandhi. 

According to the bills passed in the assembly, the state government will constitute a three-member committee to search for the VCs. The committee will appoint the VCs to these universities instead of the governor. The tussle between the governor and the government was with regard to the composition of the search committee itself. While the state government chose to go by the existing three-member panel, the governor insisted that a fourth member from the UGC also should be part of the search committee. This led to a tuck-off between the governor and the government. 

Now, after the Supreme Court gave assent to the bills, it is expected that the search panels will be constituted for all the state-run universities and the VCs will be appointed.