There seems to be no headway in the appointment of the Vice Chancellor (VC) for the Cluster University Srinagar (CUS).
The government has delayed the appointment despite a panel of three candidates being submitted to the Chancellor of the varsity more than a month back.
According to sources, the delay in the appointment of the VC has affected the day-to-day administrative affairs of the university.
The government had given additional charge of the CUS to the VC University of Kashmir (KU) till the permanent VC was appointed.
“We have to visit KU to submit our files and get them signed. Even though the approval of the files is not stopped or delayed, it becomes a hectic task to visit the university on a daily basis to discuss small issues,” a university official said.
The CUS received 53 applications for the VC’s post. The search committee scrutinised the applications and held interactions with the shortlisted candidates. Following this, a panel of three candidates was submitted to the chancellor for the appointment of the VC. However, there has been a delay by over a month in finalising the selection.
“The government is waiting for the vigilance clearance of the shortlisted candidates. Once the process is over, an order will be issued for the appointment of VC for the Cluster University Srinagar,” a top official said.
The hunt for the new VC of the Cluster University had begun in November 2019 after the varsity issued a notification inviting applications from the candidates for the post.
It was the second time that the applications were invited for the post.
The previous panel was quashed by the Chancellor of the university after a panel of candidates was submitted to him for final selection of the names for the VC’s post.
An official said that the delay in the appointment of VC for CUS was due to the process having been started simultaneously for the appointment of VC for Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University (BGSBU) Rajouri.
“The newly-appointed VC for BGSBU Prof Akbar Masood had also applied for the VC’s post of CUS. His selection as VC BGSBU can be one of the reasons that delayed the appointment of the new VC for CUS,” the official said.
The new search committee for CUS was headed by VC Central University of Gujarat Prof Rama Shankar Dubey as chairman while Director Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, UP, Prof A S K Sinha and professor at the Centre for Management Studies, JamiaMilliaIslamia New Delhi, DrFurqanQamar are its members.
The process for selection of VC Sheri Kashmir University of Agricultural Science and Technology (SKUAST), Kashmir is also under way for the past seven months.
Meanwhile, a search committee has been constituted for the appointment of the new Vice Chancellor (VC) for the Central University of Kashmir (CUK). Around 200 applications have been received from the eligible candidates for the post.
The five-year tenure of the incumbent VC Prof Mehrajuddin Mir ended in September 2020.
However, he was granted an extension till the appointment of the new VC for the university.
The members of the search committee include noted academician and former VC of the University of Kashmir, Jalees Ahmed Khan Tareen, Prof Jawahar, Prof S K Singh, Prof S P Singh and noted educationist Prof Ramabrahmam who is also the incumbent VC of the Central University of Odisha.
An official said that the search committee may hold interactions with the stakeholders of the university soon and go ahead to finalise a panel of three or five candidates.
“The panel of candidates will be submitted to the President of India for his approval to appoint one candidate as the new VC for the university,” he said.