The wait for a Vice Chancellor (VC) seems to be getting longer for the University of Calicut, the largest in the State in terms of the number of districts, colleges, and students under its jurisdiction. It has been lacking a full-time VC since November last after K. Mohammed Basheer completed his tenure.
Though a search panel had submitted a list of shortlisted candidates to the Governor, who is also the Chancellor of the university, on May 18, a final announcement is getting delayed.
The search panel had Tom Jose, whose term as Chief Secretary ended on May 31, Kerala State Planning Board Vice Chairperson V.K. Ramachandran and Jawaharlal Nehru University Vice Chancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar as its members.
After interactions with shortlisted candidates, Mr. Jose and Mr. Ramachandran proposed a list of three names in which K.M. Seethi, Professor, School of International Relations and Politics, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, was the government’s choice.
The others on the list were C.T. Aravind Kumar, Pro Vice Chancellor, Mahatma Gandhi University, and M.K. Jayaraj, Professor, Department of Physics, Cochin University of Science and Technology.
It is learnt that Mr. Kumar, however, proposed another list of three names, while favouring C.A. Jayaprakash, Principal Scientist, Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Thiruvananthapuram. The others on the list were M.V. Narayanan, Fellow, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, and Suresh Mathew, Professor, School of Chemical Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University.
Mr. Seethi, meanwhile, retired from service on May 28 after he turned 60, which is also the age limit for being selected as VC.
University sources said why the Governor was dragging his feet on the issue was not clear, though there have been rumours about a clash of political interests between him and the government on the issue.
Now, the Governor may have to choose from among the other five names.
Additional charge
V. Anil Kumar, VC, Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University, is holding additional charge of the VC now. The search process had begun afresh this year after reconstituting the panel as it could not pick up a candidate earlier.