Acting swiftly after the apex court verdict on appointment of Vice Chancellors (VCs) and Pro-VCs neighbouring Bihar has begun the process of recruitment of the vacant posts in its universities, while the authorities in Jharkhand seem to be in a fix over the filling the vacant posts due to some reason or the other. The process here has hit legal as well as technical roadblocks,say experts.
The Chancellor of Universities of Jharkhand Governor Dr Syed Ahmed, a couple of months back, had formed a search committee for appointment of VCs of Vinoba Bhave University (VBU) and Sido Kanhu Murmu University (SKMU) and also for Pro VC of VBU. However, the reshuffle of the committee members on different posts had put the process on hold, said sources.
The four-member committee included Acting Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court Justice DN Patel, Retired IAS officer Debashish Gupta, Chief Secretary RS Sharma and Principal Secretary to the Governor NN Sinha as member Secretary. While Gupta resigned from the committee after he became Chairman of the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC), Sinha also got transferred to I-T department in a major administrative rejig.
At present, the search committee technically exists, but it hardly has members, sources said. Senior officials of Raj Bhawan declined to comment on the matter. "I cannot say the exact status of the committee unless I see the files. It (the matter) needs to be seriously looked into," said a Raj Bhawan official. At present, three posts of VCs and Pro VCs are vacant in the State universities.
However, till the mid of November, two more posts of VCs will become vacant as the terms of the VCs of Kolhan University and Nilambar Pitambar University are ending in the second week of November. So there will be five important posts to be filled.
However, there seems to be ample confusion over the process of recruitment of the noble posts at the universities. According to a section of academicians and experts, after the SC verdict in the Ram Tawakya Singh Vs State of Bihar and others it will be difficult to fill the posts without amending the Jharkhand State Universities Act 2000, which does not mention formation of search committee at all in its provisions and also does not emphasise on the eligibility criteria for the posts of VCs and Pro VCs.
"While the State of Bihar has suitably amended the Bihar State Universities Act 1976 as per the SC verdict and made provision of a search committee, eligibility criteria of its members and also of the VCs and Pro VCs, Jharkhand follows the age old Act adopted by Bihar. The recommendations of the Supreme Court do hold ground in varsity appointments here in Jharkhand. So we may have to amend the University act first before making appointments," said a former VC, requesting anonymity.
On the other hand, there are people who opined that the SC verdict was specifically for Bihar in a particular case so Jharkhand did not need to amend its universities act for the purpose of making appointment. "There is no question of amendment. As per the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines there is a provision for formation of a search committee. Section 7 of the UGC guideline deals with it and as I vaguely remember it states that the search committee shall consist of eminent academicians and scholars. So there is no need of appointing IAS and Judicial officers as committee members. Even if the Jharkhand Universities Act is followed and the UGC guidelines are taken into account, the process of recruitment of VCs and Pro VCs will be transparent and just," said former RU Pro-VC VP Sharan.
Meanwhile, legal experts said that the SC verdict might not be exactly applicable in case of Jharkhand but its spirit should be followed. "As far as I remember there is no mention of following UGC norms in the Jharkhand Universities Act 2000. First, we will have to see whether the UGC norms are followed in the course of appointment or not. The SC verdict is for the Bihar Universities case so it may not be exactly applicable in Jharkhand. However, the spirit of the law must be followed as the posts of VCs and pro VCs are important ones," said former Advocate General of Jharkhand Sohail Anwer.
The process of recruitment of the top posts in State Universities has in many cases come under public scrutiny due to lack of transparency and political inferences. Whether the SC verdict holds true for Jharkhand or not it appears to be a tough task for the Government to put the recruitment process back on track.