Six Karnataka Universities Functioning Without VCs

Due to various reasons like, retirement, suspension and tenure completion, presently six Karnataka Universities are running without any Vice Chancellor to handle the duties in these universities. Most of the posts have remained vacant for almost half and year now, which is hindering the smooth functioning of the academic and learning procedures in the university.

Among these six universities, five have remained headless for last six months. These universities are: Karnataka State Sanskrit University, Bengaluru; Kuvempu University, Shivamogga; Shri Krishnadevaraya University, Ballari; Rani Channamma University, Belagavi; and Gulbarga University, Kalaburgi. In another university, Karnatak University, Dharwad, the post has remained vacant from October 23 as the Vice Chancellor was suspended and arrested recently by Lokayukta police under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has not yet decided the nominees for the panels which in return is affecting the selection procedure and making it delayed unnecessarily. The government has planned to constitute search committees for the four out of six universities and has asked the UGC via official letter to name the nominees as soon as possible, on which they haven’t got any responses yet.

Right now the acting VCs are handling the academic and educational proceedings at the university but they are shackled with the limited power that they acquire while performing. It becomes tough for them to take decisions in the matter of fee concession, recruitment of staff and introduction of new courses in respective universities. In some universities the decisions taken by the previous VCs are not getting implemented due to their removal from the chair.