The Tamil Nadu government has taken a decisive step to break the deadlock in appointing vice-chancellors by officially reviving and extending the tenure of search committees for three prominent state universities. The higher education department has formally notified the extensions and directed the committees to resume their work immediately, clarifying that a recent court order does not prevent their functioning.
Government Directs Committees to Resume Work
In an official communication, the state's higher education department has extended the tenure of the vice-chancellor search committees for Bharathidasan University in Trichy, Bharathiar University in Coimbatore, and Periyar University in Salem. The committees now have until March 21 to complete their task and submit a panel of three names for each university to the government.
The search process had stalled in May after the Madras High Court issued an interim stay on new laws that shifted the power of appointing VCs from the Governor to the state government. This legal uncertainty left the committees in limbo, unsure of how to proceed. The government's latest directive asserts that the court's stay was specific to the appointment powers and did not restrain the constitution or operation of the search committees themselves.
Legal Battle and Political Implications
The core of the dispute lies in the composition of the search committees. They were formed based on state university Acts without including nominees from the University Grants Commission (UGC), a key point of contention between Governor R.N. Ravi and the Stalin-led state government. Following a Supreme Court order in April that granted the government control over the process, fresh committees were formed for some universities, while panels for Bharathidasan, Bharathiar, and Periyar were revived and officially gazetted.
The state government has also filed a special leave petition before the Supreme Court challenging the High Court's interim orders. A source within the higher education department revealed a strategic reason for pushing the committees to prepare the name panels now: "If the court gives relief, having panels ready with names can help the govt appoint VCs before the election." This highlights the political urgency surrounding the appointments.
Committee Members and Widespread Vacancies
The search committees comprise experienced academics and former bureaucrats. The Bharathiar University panel includes former bureaucrat P.W.C. Davidar and former University of Madras VCs P. Duraisamy and G. Thiruvasagam. For Bharathidasan University, the committee consists of former bureaucrat K. Deenabandu, S. Subbiah, and former Tamil University VC M. Rajendran. The Periyar University committee is formed by former bureaucrat D. Jothi Jagarajan, former Periyar University VC M. Thangaraju, and former Tamil Nadu Open University VC M. Bhaskaran.
A member of one of the search committees shared, "After notification by the state govt, meetings were held and work had begun, but we stopped further action after the court order as there was no formal communication." Another member indicated they expect similar revival directives for other universities soon. Currently, 14 state universities in Tamil Nadu are operating without permanent vice-chancellors, underscoring the critical need to resolve the impasse for the stability of higher education in the state.
