Raj govt plans Bill to take Chancellor role from Guv

jaipur: The Rajasthan government is considering bringing in legislation to give the Chief Minister the power to appoint chancellors for the 28 state-funded universities. As per the Bill, the Governor, who is at present the Chancellor, will become the Visitor of these universities.

If the new legislation — titled Rajasthan State Funded Universities Act – comes into effect, the Governor will also have no say in the selection process of vice-chancellors of state-funded universities. The move follows several instances of a stand-off between the government and the office of Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra. The draft has been prepared after studying similar legislations planned by other non-BJP-ruled states or in place there, such as Kerala, West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh, as well as UGC regulations.

The draft talks about how this 'umbrella Act' will help in 'protecting universities from political interference' as well as 'ensuring implementation of government policies and enhancing accountability of officers to the authorities of the universities and state government and ease in policy implementation and governance.'

A government presentation related to the draft Bill says it will help avoid conflict of interest with the Governor's office.

"The Governor of Rajasthan shall be the Visitor of the University. The Visitor when present will preside over the Convocation of the University. The Chief Minister of Government of Rajasthan shall appoint a Chancellor for the University. The tenure of the Chancellor will be Five years or till the appointment of the next Chancellor by the Chief Minister whichever is earlier," says the draft.