BILLS TO REPLACE GOVERNOR AS HEAD OF VARSITIES

• The Kerala Assembly on Tuesday passed two University Law (Amendment) Bills to replace the Governor as the Chancellor of 14 State universities.
• The legislations, subject to the Governor’s assent, will enable the State government to appoint academicians or “persons of eminence” in various fields of knowledge as Chancellors in all State universities except the National University of Advanced Legal Studies, and Kerala Kalamandalam.
• The Opposition, United Democratic Front (UDF), staged a walkout in protest against the refusal to accept the amendments the party proposed to the Bill.
• It also accused the Left Democratic Front (LDF) of attempting to erode the autonomy of universities and turn them into Marxist centres.
• The Opposition sprung a surprise during the discussion as it moved a motion to appoint a Chancellor for the 14 universities instead of separate Chancellors for each.
• Law Minister P. Rajeeve proposed the inclusion of the Speaker on the panel that would be chaired by the Chief Minister and also have the Leader of the Opposition as a member. The Minister refused to accept other proposals that were made by the Opposition.
• Meanwhile, a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Tuesday stayed a single judge’s verdict upholding the action of Governor Arif Mohammed Khan in his capacity as Chancellor in appointing Ciza Thomas, Senior Joint Director, Directorate of Technical Education, as Vice-Chancellor in-charge of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU).
• The single judge, while dismissing a petition by the Kerala government challenging the Chancellor’s action, had directed the Chancellor and the University Grants Commission to constitute a selection committee for the appointment of the new V-C within two months. 

SOURCE: THE HINDU, THE ECONOMIC TIMES, PIB