Sanskrit University VC: Single name on panel; 6 senior professors excluded from list

The Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit.

Thiruvananthapuram: Documents accessed by the Save University Campaign Committee have revealed evidence proving that only Dr M V Narayanan had been recommended by the search committee to the post of vice-chancellor of Sanskrit University and the names of six senior professors had been removed from the list.

The committee obtained the documents through a Right to Information (RTI) petition.

The shortlisted panel, which originally had seven names, including that of the Sanskrit dean of Calicut University, was further narrowed down to a single name by the search committee. The panel also included the names of professors recommended earlier by the search committee for the appointment of VCs to Calicut and Cusat varsities.

The search committee comprised Planning Board vice-chairman Dr V K Ramachandran, Higher Education Council vice-chairman Dr Rajan Gurukal and Kalidasa Sanskrit Viswavidyalayam vice-chancellor Prof Srinivas Varakhedi.

It was contrary to the University Grants Commission's (UGC) rules that a vice-chairman of a university-affiliated Council of Higher Education became a member of the search committee.

The Save University Campaign Committee says that as per the Supreme Court judgment in the appointment of the Technical University VC, the appointment was not made from a panel and is sufficient reason to invalidate the appointment of the Sanskrit University VC.

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