KOCHI: Even as the committee headed by National Judicial Academy director K.N. Chandrasekhara Pillai appointed by the Higher Education Council is understood to have recommended a unified Act for the varsities in the state, the differences of opinion of the vice-chancellors on this surfaced in the recent conclave in Kochi.
The VCs of the main universities batted for it in their presentation before chancellor and governor Justice P. Sathasivam at the conclave. Their main apprehension was regarding the differing size of the syndicates and the powers of the syndicate and the senate where politicians are calling the shots and political interests are troubling them.
Andhra Pradesh already has a unified Act while Tamil Nadu is also mulling over it. However, the VC of a specialised university suggested that a unified Act would not be able to address the different character of the universities which evolved from their chequered history.
The VC said that in the case of specialised universities, a number of syndicate seats could be reserved for reputed people in that field. Such issues could be covered only by the Act. “So a broad framework law on the lines of the ICAR model law for all universities can be formulated,” the VC said.
Experts point out that several leading foreign universities have separate charter and statutes. “Bringing a unified Act may not help in the process of triggering excellence. In fact, what we need are Acts that do the groundwork for making each university one of the best in the world,” said the VC
