Himachal Government moved a bill to regulate the appointment of Vice Chancellor in Universities
The Himachal Pradesh government tabled legislation in the state assembly to regulate the appointment of Vice Chancellor in the Universities and to empower the state government to make rules for the appointment of the nominee. Introducing the Bill in the state Assembly this morning the Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi stated that this Bill was brought about to bring uniformity in the financial arrangements and in-service conditions of the employees in the Himachal Pradesh namely the Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishyavidyalya at Palampur and Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry at Solan.
Furthermore, he said that the new legislation Himachal Pradesh Universities of Agriculture, Horticulture, and Forestry (Amendment Bill 2023) would make suitable provisions for enforcing uniform standards of teaching, research, and extension education in the fields of agriculture, horticulture, and forestry in the two Universities of the state. The Bill proposed amendments to the Himachal Pradesh Universities of Agriculture. Horticulture and Forestry Act, 1986 in sections 2, 23, and 24 and also introduce new section 55-A Power to make the rules. Earlier, in the Parent Act, there was no role of the democratically elected Government in the appointment of Vice-Chancellor in the Universities even though the State Government issues Grant-in-Aid to these institutions. The National Education Policy, 2020 lays the broad framework to bring about qualitative changes to meet the aspirations of a young nation and to align our education system to meet global changes.
“For this, we need to have Vice-Chancellors who are capable of creating multi-disciplinary institutions that are committed to constitutional values and nation-building. It is found that the existing provisions regarding the selection of the Vice-Chancellor are restrictive as these do not take into account the aspirations of the people and do not allow the democratic government to exercise its right to shape the institutions of higher learning,” he said. In a democratic nation like ours, the institutions of higher learning must be headed by the people of eminence who can create world-class institutions that promote and foster values enshrined in the Constitution of India, he added.
Further, a new section 55 – A empowering the State Government to make rules for carrying out the purposes of the Act is being inserted, he added.
