A meeting of the Kerala University Senate convened on Friday to nominate a representative for the search panel to find a new vice-chancellor ended in chaos with the interference of State Higher Education Minister R Bindu.
In a surprise move, the minister dropped in and chaired the meeting in her capacity as pro-chancellor even though it is not customary for the higher education minister to attend a senate meeting.
Bindu proposed a resolution to defer the nomination process in the wake of a Bill passed by the state assembly to change the structure of the search committee, which is under the President’s consideration.
Without any discussion, the minister declared the ‘resolution’ as passed and called off the meeting amid huge protests by pro-UDF and governor-nominated senate members. This led to an altercation between the minister and the interim Vice-Chancellor Mohanan Kunnummal.
The vice-chancellor asserted that he summoned the meeting as the chairman of the senate and that the minister had no locus standi to preside over the meeting or read the agenda.
Even though Left-backed senate members walked out of the hall after the minister declared the meeting over, pro-UDF and chancellor-nominated senate members stayed put.
The two sections then proposed their respective nominees to the search panel. While former vice-chancellor of the Kerala University of Health Sciences MKC Nair was the choice of the chancellor-nominated members, the pro-UDF members proposed the name of former VC of Sanskrit University MC Dileep Kumar.
The vice-chancellor is set to submit the names proposed by both sections and also give a detailed report on the meeting to the chancellor