My Memoir in the Making 74th Chapter (Honour and Respect Bestowed on Vice-Chancellors)

I am prompted to write this chapter of my memoir on the respect and honour bestowed on teachers in general and the head of the institutions, the Vice-Chancellors, in particular. The dawn of higher education in India has its roots with Ma Saraswati holding a Vina with two hands, book and a lotus flower in the remaining two respectively, lending the spiritual touch. There is a common belief that the Vice-Chancellor’s position can be conferred only on those who have the blessing of Ma Saraswati, the Goddess of Knowledge. 

India which was the world leader in Higher Education before the Christian era, saw many downfalls with the change in the political set up; especially during the Islamic rule it reached its lowest ebb, leading to a long dark period. Then the British introduced the European system of higher education which we are still following. But India could not keep pace in its academic journey with European sciences and lagged behind in global perception. At the time of Independence in 1950 there were 20 universities only and this number started growing but with increasing demand the need was felt to expand its base exponentially. This then opened the doors for private education in India. 

The number of private universities has reached a new landmark of more than six hundred with a + of 1100 in total. This numerical growth had also generated a host of issues and the stature of the Vice-Chancellor has gone down as in many cases only stop-gap arrangements are made and those in the private universities are always the target. With an aim to regulate this new challenge, some of the States including Himachal Pradesh established regulatory authorities and the HP Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission (HPPERC) came into existence.

With the passage of time the HPPERC instead of upgrading higher education in private universities, started drifting towards policing authority. This shabby treatment extended to the termination of three Vice Chancellors without seeking their explanation which in my opinion undermined the status of the custodians of higher education who otherwise are well respected in society. The country is proud of several Vice-Chancellors in the past who rose to higher positions including that of Vice-President and President of India. Some of the recognized and reputed Vice-Chancellors are Dr Radha Krishnan, Dr Zakir Husain, Prof Yash Pal, Mr Sam Pitroda, Prof Amartya Sen, Dr Raghunath Mashelkar, Dr M.S. Swaminathan and numerous others.

The recent case filed by Dr Vipin Saini Vice-Chancellor of Maharshi Markandeshwar University, Kumarhatti, Solan, in the Hon’ble High Court of Himachal Pradesh, while setting aside the orders of the HPPERC vide its judgement on August 4, 2023, terminating his services raised eyebrows at the manner HPPERC has treated the Vice-Chancellors. The Hon’ble Court clearly spelt out that as per the UGC Regulations1998 and 2010, Ph.D. is not an essential qualification for the post of the Vice-Chancellor. 

Hereunder I spell down the general rules and regulations on the qualifications of the Professors and the Vice-Chancellors, respectively before 2018 and afterwards. The qualifications of the Vice-Chancellor have continued to be consistent over the years, i.e., without any mention of a Ph.D. degree, while the qualifications for the post of Professor were changed in 2018, to accommodate Ph.D. as an essential qualification.

A person possessing the highest level of competence, integrity, morals and institutional commitment is to be appointed as Vice-Chancellor. The person to be appointed as a Vice-Chancellor should be a distinguished academician, with a minimum of ten years of experience as Professor in a University or ten years’ of experience in a reputed research and / or academic administrative organization with proof of having demonstrated academic leadership.

The Qualifications for Professor as per UGC Regulations 2018 are: -

An eminent scholar having a Ph.D. degree in the concerned/allied/relevant discipline and published work of high quality, actively engaged in research with evidence of published work with a minimum, of 10 research publications in the peer-reviewed or UGC listed journals.

The essential qualifications for the post of Professor prior to 2018 regulations (1998 and 2010) are: -

i.             First class graduate and professionally qualified Chartered Acountant/Cost and Works Accountant/Company Secretary of the concerned statutory body.

ii.           Ph.D. or Fellow of Indian Institute of Management or of an Institute recognized by AICTE and declared equivalent by the AIU.

iii.   A minimum of ten years’ experience of teaching/industry research/professional out of which fie ears must be at the level of Reader or equivalent excluding the period spent on obtaining the research degree.

OR

In the event the candidate is from industry and the profession, the following shall constitute an essential:

1.    Consistently good academic record with at least 55% marks or an equivalent grade in a point scale wherever grading system is followed in Master’s Degree in Business Management /Administration/in a relevant management-related discipline or consistently good academic record with at least 55% marks (or an equivalent grade in a point scale wherever grading system is followed) in two years full-time PGDM declared equivalent b AIU/recognized by the AICRE/UGC

 The HPPERC appointed a committee that faulted on two grounds to recommend the termination of those Vice-Chancellors who were not Ph.D. holders. However, for the post of Professor as per 2018 Regulations, Ph.D. has been made compulsory as cited above.

The said Committee arbitrarily based its decision on the first option wherein Ph.D. has become the essential qualification for appointment of Professor w.e.f. 2018. Dr Vipin Saini was appointed Professor in 2006 as per the regulations of 1998 while Ph.D. became an essential qualification for the post of Professor only in 2018. The Hon’ble Court, in its fair judgment, struck down the action of the HPPERC to apply the condition of Ph. D as the essential qualification based on the UGC Regulations 2018 while he had already served as Professor for more than twelve years. It is also surprising that the HPPERC did not examine the rules and regulations applicable to Professors and Vice-Chancellors in the universities. In the second case the affected university whose Vice-Chancellor akin to that of Dr Vipin Saini also had sought to stay the implementation of the alleged order on similar grounds terminating his services as the Vice-Chancellor.

 The purpose of this essay is not to contest the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor but to express agony over the manner in which the HPPERC acted in haste and immature manner insulting the incumbent Vice-Chancellors, basing its judgment only on the report of the Committee. Let all those who believe in differentiation between private and public universities know that the world over private universities are the best public institutes excelling in an unimaginable manner. Oxford, Stanford, Caltech, and Harvard are private universities. Similarly, Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences (Shoolini Univrsity), established in 2009, today surpasses several renowned universities.  

My last concern after the aforesaid humiliation from the HPPERC is to ponder if the State needs this body or if it needs to be abandoned. In my opinion, it is not serving any purpose except hampering the academic journey of the universities. Furthermore, this body has never advised any university on quality development except for playing the role of policing the gaps. Earlier, as its Vice-Chancellor for over a decade and now as its Chancellor, I feel humiliated by the action of my colleagues who were members of the Committee who were assigned the responsibility to check the eligibility of the Vice Chancellors of private universities in Himachal Pradesh.

In principle, I do not uphold the creation of a regulatory body for private universities. If it is required, then its role be rechristened to cover all the HP Universities with an eye to make Himachal Pradesh a hub of higher education for providing quality higher education in the cool summers of the Himalayas. Let the universities flourish on their own. In fact, the HPPERC is a stumbling block standing in the way of promoting higher education because of its policing authority. I can vouch that if this Commission was not there, Shoolini would have gone several steps ahead of what it is today.

Notwithstanding the above, I may add that the HPPERC is functioning on a breather from the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India as the High Court of Himachal Pradesh also had squashed its existence due to its overlapping functions with that of the University Grants Commission. Secondly, the HPPERC also had been working as an authoritarian unwilling to lend the freedom of deciding the number of seats and starting the new courses violating the Act of the Private Universities which reads as under:

The University shall seek prior approval of the Regulatory Commission for admitting new students in subsequent years in the existing courses/or for starting new courses which shall be subject to recommendations of the inspection committee set up for the purpose. This shall be applicable till the first batch of final year students are admitted.

With all humility let me write that Shoolini University, which flourished under the patronage of academicians and top business executives, is a befitting model for its adoption for creating unequivocal success in the private sector. Today, Shoolini has come up as a debutant private university surpassing several top public universities. Its model for promoting research in higher education is the only way if Indian universities can try to become global players. If these private institutions remain passive, then surely their existence is threatened. Believe it or not, Indian Higher Education can only be competitive at the World level if all and sundry respect private universities along with their Vice-Chancellors.

__________________________________________________

*Chancellor, Shoolini University, Solan (H.P.)