Kerala Governor seeks list of senior professors of KUFOS

After the bitter fight over the appointment of Vice Chancellor in-charge of the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU) in Thiruvananthapuram, a new battlefront has opened between Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and the State government at the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS), with the Governor seeking the list of senior professors of the varsity.

The Governor, who is also the Chancellor of the university, sought the list of senior professors who have put in at least 10 years of service in the varsity on Monday after the Kerala High Court quashed the appointment of its Vice Chancellor K. Riji John. He has also sought a report on the “status of the VC” of the university.

Incidentally, the Governor had spared KUFOS while seeking lists from the 10 State universities earlier. The list was sought after serving show-cause notices to the 10 VCs asking them to explain why their appointments shall not be declared void ab initio in the wake of the Supreme Court verdict in the case of the VC of the KTU. The status report and the list will be submitted to the Chancellor shortly, said KUFOS sources.

The list, it is presumed, was sought to pick a senior professor to be appointed as the VC in-charge of KUFOS till the selection and appointment of the new VC. The High Court, which had noted that the appointment was made in violation of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Regulations 2018, directed the Chancellor to constitute a search-cum-selection committee for recommending a panel of names for the post as specified by the UGC.

The Chancellor’s move is likely to further aggravate the situation as the State government had challenged the appointment of Ciza Thomas, senior joint director, the Directorate of Technical Education, as VC in-charge of the KTU.

Challenging the Chancellor’s decision at the High Court, the government had contended that a VC of any other university or the Pro Vice Chancellor of the university or the secretary to the Higher Education department shall be appointed as the VC in-charge.

The High Court has scheduled the case for final hearing this week.