To reaffirm control over Tamil Nadu university, governor RN Ravi calls meet of VCs

CHENNAI: In a move that could lead to possible conflict with the state govt, Tamil Nadu governor RN Ravi has convened a conference of vice-chancellors of state universities, central universities and private universities at Ooty on April 25 & 26.
“Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar has consented to be chief guest and will inaugurate the conference on April 25. R N Ravi, governor-chancellor of state universities of Tamil Nadu, will preside,” said a release from Raj Bhavan on Tuesday. Dhankhar had criticised the Supreme Court order which also fixed a timeline for the President to decide on bills sent.
The April 8 Supreme Court order empowered the TN govt to appoint and sack vice-chancellors to state universities by clearing 10 university bills passed by the state Assembly. It also fixed a timeline for governors and the President to give assent to the bills passed by states. However, the governor was not replaced as chancellor of state universities.
“The conference aims to have detailed deliberations and interactive sessions on a gamut of issues covering implementation of the National Credit Framework, academic collaborations among universities, use of AI to maximise learning outcomes, financial management in educational institutions, research excellence, promoting entrepreneurship, capacity building for learners, creating wealth through Intellectual Property (IP), and careers in the rehabilitation of differently abled persons,” the release added.
There will be eminent speakers from academia, govt and industry at the conference that will include a special address by professor Ajay Kumar Sood, principal scientific adviser to govt of India, on ‘Frontiers in Science and Technology’. The conference aims to foster collaboration, share best practices and explore innovative approaches to higher education in a rapidly evolving academic landscape, it said.
Educationists said the governor-chancellor calling for a meeting of vice-chancellors violates no rules. “As chancellor, the governor has all powers to supervise, the right to call for a meeting and discuss any issue concerning higher education except the appointment of vice-chancellors,” said former Anna University vice-chancellor E Balagurusamy.
University officials, however, are caught in a catch-22 situation, with many saying they are awaiting direction from the govt to attend the conference.
Following the governor’s insistence on including UGC nominees in the vice-chancellor search committees for state universities, the state govt in 2022 and 2023 passed 10 bills empowering it to appoint vice-chancellors. Later, citing the delay in the governor giving assent, it moved Supreme Court which deemed the bills approved from the date they were resent to the governor. Following the apex court order, chief minister M K Stalin chaired a meeting of vice-chancellors and registrars of 21 state universities last week.