Shivamogga

Noted agri-economist and Karnataka State Policy and Planning Commission member T.N. Prakash Kammardi has raised serious objections to the appointment of the incumbent Vice-Chancellor of the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Bengaluru, as chairman of the search committee to select the Vice-Chancellor of Keladi Shivappa Nayaka University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences (KSNUAHS), Shivamogga.

The Department of Agriculture, through a notification dated May 14, constituted a search committee to recommend a panel of eligible candidates for the post of Vice-Chancellor of KSNUAHS, Shivamogga. The committee is chaired by Dr. S.V. Suresh, Vice-Chancellor of UAS, Bengaluru. Its members include Prof. M. Krishnan, Vice-Chancellor of the Central University of Tamil Nadu, Neelakudi Campus, Thiruvarur; and Prof. Sita Prasad Tiwari, former Vice-Chancellor of Nanaji Deshmukh Veterinary Sciences University, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. The Director General of ICAR, New Delhi, is also a member, and the Principal Secretary of the Agriculture Department serves as convener.

In a letter to the Agriculture Minister, Dr. Kammardi argued that appointing a sitting Vice-Chancellor to head such a committee raises serious questions about the credibility of the academic selection process. “While the appointment may be technically valid, it clearly runs counter to the fundamental standards of academic autonomy, ethics, and impartial governance,” he said.

Citing the UGC Regulations 2018 and the ICAR Model Act, he noted that the chairperson of a search committee should have maintained at least a ten-year distance from sister institutions and should be a nationally renowned scientist or education expert who is completely independent of the local government and university system. “In this case, the chairperson is a sitting Vice-Chancellor and, in effect, part of the administrative establishment. There is every possibility that he may have known or worked with some of the applicants, giving rise to a clear conflict of interest,” he told The Hindu.

Dr. Kammardi observed that this was possibly the first instance in the State where a sitting Vice-Chancellor had been appointed to a search committee for another university. He said the move was likely to prompt questions in academic circles and among the public. He called upon Dr. Suresh to set a precedent by voluntarily stepping down from the role and simultaneously urged the government to reconsider its decision.