Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Appointment of Syndicate members to 13 Karnataka varsities put on hold

BENGALURU, JULY 30, 2019 00:00 IST

Less than a week after the JD(S) and Congress coalition government appointed Syndicate members to 13 State-run universities, the Higher Education Department has directed varsities to put them on hold.

All the appointed were government nominees. The order issued last week states that all appointments made by State government to university Syndicates under Karnataka State Universities Act 2000 has to be kept on hold until further orders.

Following this, the varsities informed the nominated that they cannot function as Syndicate members for the time being. The appointments drew flak as the posts of syndicate members had been vacant for a year and the coalition government made these appointments just days before it lost the trust vote. Former Higher Education Minister G.T. Devegowda had defended the nominees and stated that they were not only doctorates and masters’ degree holders, but also qualified education experts. Soon after he took charge, he said that he wanted to do away with appointments that were “political in nature”. He even said that his government would ensure that only academically-qualified persons are nominated.

The BJP Members of the Legislative Council had alleged that he had not kept his word and lodged a complaint before Chief Secretary T.M. Vijay Bhaskar requesting him to rescind the nominations. Following this, the Higher Education Department was directed to communicate this to the universities.

Earlier, the government nominees to the Syndicate made by the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government were removed after the JD(S)-Congress coalition government came to power.

A former Vice-Chancellor said: “The Syndicate is the highest decision-making body of the universities and the government needs to frame parameters and justify the appointments. Each government appoints its own members and the syndicate members are used as pawns by political parties to fulfil their agenda.” He also levelled allegations of corruption behind the appointments.

A Registrar of a city-based university said over the past year, the posts of Syndicate members were vacant. “Between the tussle of various governments, the university lost out as there were no experts to guide the universities. The new government should fill the posts in a transparent manner,” he said.

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