Kerala Govt Takes Legal Recourse To Remove Governor As Chancellor Of State-run Varsities
Amidst increasing exertion between the Kerala Government and Governor of State Arif Mohammad Kahn, the cabinet decided on Wednesday to bring an ordinance to remove Arif Mohammad Khan from the position of chancellor of all the state-run universities. Sources said that this unprecedented move has been taken by the government due to the disparity of thoughts between the government and the governor.
Reports also said that the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government intends to bring experts and educators to the post of Vice-Chancellor.
As per the directive from the governor of Kerala, the Vice-Chancellors of the University of Kerala, the Mahatma Gandhi University, the Cochin University of Science and Technology, the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, the University of Calicut, the Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, and the Thunachath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University have been asked to resign from their positions.
Eventually, the Vice-Chancellors of nine universities filed litigation in the High Court against the directives of the governor.
An official release from the Chief Minister’s Office said “The Ordinance is meant to amend the University Rules pertaining to the post of Chancellor of the Universities in the state. The draft of the ordinance would remove the particular section from the University Rules, which has made the governor the ex-officio chancellor of the 14 universities in Kerala.”
Governor Khan appointed Ciza Thomas as the Vice Chancellor in charge of the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU) in Thiruvananthapuram. Addressing the recent order of the Supreme Court discarding the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor of the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University for being contradictory to the UGC regulations, Khan asked the VCs of nine other universities to resign as well.
The move of Governor Khan was challenged by the state government in the High Court, the state government urged the High Court to hold these appointments. However, the court declined to adhere to the state government's request and refused to stay the appointment.
Over this matter, Kerala Higher Education Minister, Dr R Bindu said “The governor has the constitutional obligation to sign the ordinance. We hope he will fulfil that obligation. Due to the recent developments in the universities, the state’s higher education sector is in crisis. We cannot allow things to go like this. The government has given top priority to enhancing the standards in the higher education sector.’’
