VC appointments to central universities held up in HRD ministry

NEW DELHI: The Union human resource development (HRD) ministry has been sitting on the appointment of vice chancellors to central universities although due selection process has been completed and it was tasked with filling up vacancies in educational institutions as part of the Centre’s 100-day agenda.

Appointments of vice chancellors to at least five central universities have been held up in the ministry, even as the selection process was wrapped up months ago.

As per the outlined process, a selection committee comprising eminent persons shortlists candidates for a VC’s post and submits a panel of three-five names which are to be sent by the ministry to the Visitor (President of India) for approval. In practice, the HRD ministry and minister’s offices vets the names carefully before sending them to the Visitor.


ET has learnt that while selection committees submitted shortlisted panels of candidates for the top posts at several universities in time, they remain under scrutiny at the ministry and in the office of the HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.

A senior official told ET on condition of anonymity that “due diligence” is being carried out and the appointments will be made soon. The official did not give any details of the due diligence required.

The university which has been impacted most is Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, which has been without a full-time VC since the then incumbent was sacked in December 2016. The varsity has been headless despite Pokhriyal identifying this appointment as a top priority when he took over in June. The minister is an alumnus of the university.

Since the first set of shortlisted candidates were found wanting by Rashtrapati Bhavan in March, a fresh panel was sought from the selection committee and sent to the HRD minister’s office on August 6. Nearly two months later, the minister has yet to give his go-ahead.

Then there is the Indira Gandhi National Tribal University at Amarkantak, which has been headless since January. The panel for a new VC has been pending in the minister’s office since February 27. While the Modi government’s first term ended and the second appointed a new HRD minister, the appointment file is still pending at the minister’s office.

The Koraput Central University in Odisha has been waitlisted as well. The selection committee for the new VC – this one chaired by the secretary, higher education, R Subrahmanyam – submitted its panel of names to the ministry on June 4. This panel has yet to get a go-ahead from the ministry.

The Odisha university has been without a VC since March, and central universities of Gujarat and Kerala are also without a VC.