Amid the ongoing clash between the government and the governor, the Kerala government on Wednesday said it will approve an ordinance under which the governor will no longer serve as chancellor of state universities. Instead, an academic becomes chancellor. The decision to issue the ordinance was taken at a cabinet meeting, a source in the chief minister’s office said. Kerala Higher Education Minister R Bindu confirmed the move.
However, the decree will have to be signed by Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, with whom the government is at loggerheads over many issues, including the functioning of universities. Minister R Bindu said she hoped the governor would sign the ordinance as soon as the government brought it, in line with his constitutional obligations.
According to reports, the decree will be discussed at today’s government meeting. The recent flashpoint between Arif Mohammad Khan and the government is over the functioning of universities as the governor sought the resignation of vice-chancellors of nine state universities. The governor demanded the resignation of the VC following the Supreme Court’s verdict that the appointment of the vice-chancellor of APJ Abdul Kalam University of Technology, Thiruvananthapuram was “illegal”.
The governor issued notices to these vice-chancellors asking why their appointments should not be declared void ab initio in view of the Supreme Court’s verdict on APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University VC. The pro-chancellors appealed the court against the call. The Kerala High Court on Tuesday barred the governor from issuing any order to notify the showcase till the court decides on the pleas filed by the VC challenging the notification.
