Karnataka: New Bill promises holistic reforms in varsities, rid them of 'unholy' interference

Karnataka has drafted an ambitious Bill that promises “full autonomy” to state-run universities, which includes stripping the Governor of the power to appoint vice-chancellors (VCs) and doing away with the Syndicate as the highest decision-making body.

The Karnataka State Public Higher Education Institutions Bill is expected to be tabled in the next session of the legislature. This will replace the Karnataka State Universities Act.

One major relief the Bill offers is that universities will be free from political appointments that Syndicates have become notorious for.

Board of Governors

The Syndicate will be replaced by a Board of Governors (BoG). Also, the “full autonomy” that universities stand to gain will be in both academics and administration.

The idea is to make state universities function like the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). The Bill was drafted by an expert committee headed by former DRDO chief V K Aatre.

It received only 25 objections and they are being scrutinised by the Karnataka State Higher Education Council (KSHEC).

According to KSHEC vice-chairman B Thimme Gowda, a member of the Aatre committee, the Bill is framed in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. “One of the main recommendations of the NEP is to give autonomy to higher education institutions,” he says.

“All the best universities in the world have full autonomy.”

At present, the Governor is also the Chancellor of universities with the power to appoint VCs.

Over the years, the process of appointing VCs got shrouded in controversy mainly because there is no transparency

Under the new Bill, while the Governor will continue to be the Chancellor, it is the BoG that will appoint the VCs.

The Board will have nominees of the government and governor. The final decision, however, is with the Board. And, the Governor will continue to preside over convocations.

The Board of Governors will be headed by a chairperson who will be the supreme head of the university. However, the chairperson will be appointed by the Governor.

A former VC of Bangalore University says the new Bill is much needed. “The existing system has political interference at every level as there are nominees of the government in the Syndicate, who are basically government appointees. A majority of the Syndicate members currently are not qualified,” he says.

Checks & balances

The Bill explains the problem thus: “Regulation of higher education has been heavy-handed for decades with concentrations of power within a few bodies and conflicts of interest among these bodies, resulting in lack of accountability. It is therefore necessary to overhaul the regulatory system in order to re-energize the higher education sector. It is to create checks and balances in the system, minimize conflicts of interest and eliminate concentrations of power.”

But, former Bangalore University V C N Prabhu Dev, whose tenure saw him lock horns with Syndicate members, is not entirely convinced.

“It is basically the same old Act with a new name. Syndicate is replaced by BoG, but the members will be under government control,” he says.

“As long as the BoG members listen to the government, they will be in. If not, they’ll be shown the door.” Dev stresses that the government should have nothing to do with the appointment of VCs. “The appointment should be by invitation, not by application.”

The new Bill allows the government to withdraw the autonomy of universities in case of misuse. Unless there are issues, the government cannot interfere in the day-to-day affairs of the universities.

“This Bill is framed in line with NEP, mainly to give complete autonomy to universities. The draft Bill was put on public domain and the department received a few suggestions, which are being incorporated. We’re planning to table the Bill in the next legislature session,” Higher Education Minister C N Ashwath Narayan said.