Amid tussle, Kerala removes Guv Arif Mohammed Khan as Chancellor of Deemed University

Mangalore Today News Network / News18

Thiruvanantapuram, Nov 10, 2022: The Kerala government on Thursday removed Governor Arif Mohammed Khan as chancellor of Kerala Kalamandalam deemed university amid a huge row with the Pinarayi Vijayan-headed dispensation over the functioning of universities, including appointments of Vice Chancellors.

 

The move comes after the LDF government earlier in the day amended the rules of the deemed-to-be university to remove Khan as its chancellor. The position would now be filled with an eminent person from the field of Art and Culture, appointed by the sponsoring body. According to the rules, the Kerala government is the sponsoring body of the university.

Khan’s removal comes amidst a massive face-off with the government over appointments of Vice Chancellors and its announcement that it will come out with an ordinance to replace him as chancellor of state universities.

Earlier in the day, Kerala Higher Education Minister R Bindhu said that the state government would convene an Assembly session next month and bring out legislation if Khan was not prepared to sign the ordinance stripping him of the role of chancellor of universities.

The government had on Wednesday decided to come out with an ordinance to replace the Governor as chancellor of universities and appoint eminent academicians instead — a move which was opposed by both the Congress and BJP.

The row

The row began in December last year when Khan had written a letter stating that he wants to step down as the chancellor of universities after alleging that he was being pressured by the state government to make appointments violating the norms.

Then in August this year, Khan had opposed the appointment of a CPIM leader’s wife as an Associate Professor in Kannur University’s Department of Malayalam. Priya Varghese, the wife of CM Vijayan’s private secretary KK Ragesh, was accused of not having the necessary qualifications for the job. This triggered a debate on nepotism in educational appointments in the state.

Then in October, Khan had asked the vice-chancellors (V-Cs) of nine state universities to resign, claiming that rules were flouted during their appointment.

When they refused to resign, Khan served them with show-cause notices, requiring them to respond by November 3 on their “legal right" to remain in office. The V-Cs then filed a petition with the Kerala High Court, where they were granted leave to continue in their positions until the governor issued a final order based on their responses to the notices. Khan then went on to serve notices to the vice-chancellors of two more universities.