Seminar makes a case for curtailing VCs’ powers

The Maharashtra Universities Act which came into effect in July 1994 replacing the Bombay University Act, 1974 along with all other non-agricultural Universities Acts in Maharashtra, gave the Chief Executive Officer’s status to the vice-chancellor. In the earlier Act it was the registrar who was the CEO of a university.

Now, as is obvious from a series of meetings held between the vice-chancellors, senior education department officials and the Chancellor Governor P C Alexander, thegovernment wants to introduce some amendments to this Act. The one-day seminar was an attempt to start a debate in this direction.

The tone for the discussion was set by Minister for Higher and Technical Education Datta Rane in his inaugural address when he dropped enough hints to suggest that the Act needed an overhaul.

And if the speakers’ mood was anything to go by the first change they would like to see in the Act would be curtailment of VCs’ powers. Speaker after speaker today gave examples of vice-chancellors misusing their office. They claimed that while the old Act had provisions whereby a VC’s actions could be challenged in the registrar’s office, the new Act has done away with this option concentrating too much power in VC’s hands.

Dr S M Bhave of N W College, Pune and Kishor G Bhide of SNDT Arts and Commerce college, Pune in their paper said the only forum for redressal of complaints against Vice-Chancellor now available was the office of the chancellor and the Press. They gave the example ofthe MBBS marks scam, in which the University of Mumbai Vice-Chancellor Snehalata Deshmukh has been able to ride rough-shod over all attempts to seek an explanation from her.The entire batch of the final-year MBBS students this year were given eight grace marks in Preventive and Social Medicine (PSM) paper by the university in contravention of rules that say that a declared result can’t be changed except in the case of revaluation of marks. Deshmukh has since gone on record saying that the decision to grant grace marks was her’s.

The other example that Bhave and Bhide cited was that of an SNDT teacher who had published in the form of a book a student’s dissertation, taking credit for the entire research work. Even though the ABVP held a press conference to expose the fraud, the SNDT vice-chancellor has not initiated any action against the lecturer.

The secretary of Pune University Teachers’ Forum and Maharashtra University Teachers Forum (PUTFMUTF) , Dr Santishree D N B Pandit said there should be checksand balances in place to curtail autocracy in universities. She gave the example of former VC of Pune University, Dr Vasant Gowarikar, who had courted controversy by deciding on the seniority of a teachers according to his whims and fancies.

The speakers also made a strong case for restoring elections to the students council at the college and university levels, which have been done away with in the new Act.

Maharashtra Federation of University and College Tecahers Organisation (MFUCTO) president Prof C R Sadasivan said: this would not only ensure essential financial accountability in the colleges, but also revitalise cultural activities.