ISHTIYAQ AHMAD
EARLY TIMES REPORT
SRINAGAR, Mar 11: The Jammu and Kashmir Union territory government will set a process to appoint new vice chancellors in universities where term of VCs have ended or are nearing completion.
There are around 11 universities in Jammu and Kashmir including two central universities. Several universities are run by the caretakers.
Sources in the higher education department said that a process has already begun to appoint new vice chancellors where the term of previous VCs has ended.
“In last few months, new vice chancellors were appointed at several universities in J&K. Process are also going in other universities,” sources maintained.
In April 2020, the Centre came up with the gazette notification for the acts that have been amended after the abrogation of article 370 which granted special status to JK and stripped it into two Union Territories. According to the new amendments in the University Act of JK, the tenure of Vice Chancellor of Universities is three years.
The government last month appointed Dean Academic Affairs at Kashmir University, Prof Akbar Masood as the new Vice Chancellor (VC) of Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University (BGSBU) Rajouri in Jammu for a period of three years. The previous Vice Chancellor’s term had ended in last year.
Similarly, the appointment of new VCs for Central University Kashmir and Cluster University Srinagar has begun and the final selection is under process.
The three year term of Prof Manoj K Dhar, vice chancellor of the University of Jammu will end in July this year. Sources said that he recently made a representation with Raj Bhawan whether his term was for three or five years.
In reply, Principal Secretary to Lieutenant Governor Nitishwar Kumar said VC’s term was for three years. “In terms of section 12 (5) and 12 (6) of Kashmir and Jammu universities act, 1969, the chancellor University of Jammu has been pleased to order the following terms and conditions of appointment of professor Manoj Kumar Dhar VC University of Jammu. If the VC wishes to resign before the end of his tenure, he shall give a notice of three months or pay three month’s salary in lieu thereof,” the letter reads, a copy of which lies with early Times.
Similarly, the three year term of Professor Talat Ahmad University of Kashmir will end in August this year. A senior professor of Kashmir University said while a hunt has started to look for new VC of Jammu University, nothing has been done so far in Kashmir University.
While, tenure of VC, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Science and Technology (SKUAST) – Kashmir ended in October last year. |
