No consensus on KTU, DUK V-Cs, conciliatory meeting yields no breakthrough

The ongoing standoff between Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, who is also the Chancellor of universities, and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government over the appointment of Vice-Chancellors (V-Cs) to APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU) and Digital University Kerala deepened after conciliatory talks on Wednesday failed to yield any consensus.

Law Minister P. Rajeeve and Higher Education Minister R. Bindu met the Governor at Lok Bhavan, but despite an hour-long discussion, both sides remained firm in their positions. The impasse appears to be headed towards a resolution through a final decision by the Supreme Court. The court has posted the matter for hearing on Thursday.

While the State government preferred C. Sathish Kumar and Saji Gopinath for appointments to the V-C positions at KTU and DUK respectively, the Governor had recommended the names of Priya Chandran and Ciza Thomas at the apex court.

The prevailing dispute centres around the government’s stiff objection to appointing Dr. Thomas, considering her bitter relationship with the ruling dispensation since her appointment as the interim V-C of KTU by Mr. Arlekar’s predecessor Arif Mohamed Khan three years ago. She is presently the V-C in-charge of DUK.

Despite the government’s reservations, the Governor has strongly defended her credentials. The Governor argued that the government itself had recognised Dr. Thomas’s capabilities, citing her appointments to several important committees, including those in charge of selecting chief executive officers for Technopark and Infopark as well as her leadership roles in the government’s key agencies such as KSPACE (Kerala Spacepark) and K-FON.

However, the Ministers reiterated the government’s position that V-C appointments should be made from the list provided by the Chief Minister, and that the appointment process remains in line with the procedure mandated by the Supreme Court.

Mr. Rajeeve, while addressing mediapersons later, said the government would continue its efforts to attain a consensus. He added that the government took the initiative for the talks and expressed confidence that the matter would be resolved through the ongoing dialogue.

He also indicated that the State government would inform the Supreme Court of the developments in the issue.