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Lobbying begins for Panjab varsity V-C post

Rajesh Ahuja

Will the present incumbent get another term or the Search Committee recommend a new name?

CHANDIGARH: The question being asked on the Panjab University campus these days is whether Vice-Chancellor K. N. Pathak, whose second term expires on July 22, will get yet another extension or will the Search Committee recommend another name for the prestigious post. According to highly placed sources, several academicians are in the race.

While the Search Committee, headed by Justice J. C. Verma and comprising Dr. V. S. Vyas and Dr. K. K. Aggarwal, is believed to have written to eminent educationists for suggestions as there are no formal applicants since the post has not been advertised, some of the aspirants have started lobbying for the post.

Close associates of Prof. Pathak are hopeful that he may get a third term -- despite the fact that he is over the age limit of 65 years -- given his proximity to the vice-President and University Chancellor, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

They assert that the University won many laurels during Prof. Pathak's tenure both on the academic and infrastructure fronts and he deserves a third stint to continue the ongoing activities.

However, it is being said in University circles that as Vice-Chancellor he hardly used "power'' or took initiatives or key decisions. A senior professor remarked that Prof. Pathak's style of functioning relied heavily on "appointing ad hoc committees one after the other and immediately succumbing to pressure unmindful of the long-term consequences''.

Another senior don said it was shocking that the all-important CET could not be held as announced because of the mysterious non-arrival of the question paper. He further alleged: "Panjab University has the dubious distinction of having in office a Controller of Examination who had spent six months in jail on charges of leaking a question paper. The Vice-Chancellor should have put his foot down and insisted that the Senate divest the man of the sensitive charge. And his `charge-sheeting' in the CET case would be an eyewash.''

Old-timers recall that Panjab University came into existence on October 1, 1947, as a successor to and in continuation of Punjab University, Lahore, which was set up in 1882. They say the Act as applicable to Punjab University, Lahore, was simply copied and legitimised. It simply stated that "the Vice-Chancellor shall be appointed by the Chancellor". No procedure was laid down nor any age or tenure limit prescribed.

They feel that the University Act should be amended to be consistent with the spirit of the times. And the Vice-Chancellor should be chosen by a clearly prescribed procedure and should hold office for a fixed five-year non-renewable term. "This way he will be able to take far-sighted decisions and also groom younger people for future responsibilities,'' they said.

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