Hyderabad: Fresh directives have ordered that no IAS or IPS official will be tasked with the responsibility of the Vice-Chancellor’s post at any university in Telangana. Only senior professors and academicians will now be allowed to occupy the post. The directive applies to Osmania University too. A top official from the higher education department confirmed this development.
Earlier, there were speculations that a top cop would be made in charge of Osmania University – keeping in mind the volatile political atmosphere that has continued on the campus, for the past two years. But there has been strong opposition from academicians and other quarters.
Prof. Battu Satyanara-yana, president of Osmania University Teachers’ Association, said there was a need to appoint professors who had years of experience in teaching – which is a system followed by other states. The government had relaxed UGC guidelines for the VC post and has included a provision which states that any distinguished person, with a proven administrative capability, could be appointed as the head of any varsity.
This move then triggered speculation that the government would appoint persons from non-teaching backgrounds. The OUTA and other teaching faculty from other varsities then knocked at the Court’s doors opposing the government’s decision to relax norms. Meanwhile, Prof. S Ramachandram (Principal, OU engineering college), Prof. Sayanna and Prof. K. Narasimha Reddy from the Physics department are being seen as likely OU VC candidates.
