Incumbent V-Cs too vie for top jobs
TSCHE officials also among 1,382 applicants for the top position in 10 universities
Hyderabad: Several incumbent vice chancellors (VCs) have thrown their hats into the ring for VC position in State universities. It is also learnt that top university officials have made their application with the Higher Education Department seeking one more opportunity as VC.
Apart from existing VCs, the Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE) officials have also made their pitch and are trying their luck for the VC position.
According to a senior official of the department, as per rule, the government constituted a university-wise search committee comprising a nominee of the executive council of the university concerned, and nominees of the University Grants Commission and State government.
The committee will scrutinise applications based on eligibility and send a list of three names to the government, which in turn will send it to the Governor who appoints the VC from the given names.
“We have already constituted the university-search committee but found that some VC aspirants are also among members of the search committees. So, we will be reconstituting the committee,” the official said.
With tenure of the current VCs set to conclude in the last week of May, the government recently issued a notification for appointment of VCs to 10 State universities.
As many as 312 professors have evinced their interest for the position and a total of 1,382 applications were received by the government with some professors applying for multiple universities.
During the last such appointments in 2021, a total of 930 applications were received. “The government will be appointing the new VCs as soon as Parliament election code is withdrawn by the Election Commission of India, ” an official said.
Meanwhile, the department has drawn up plans for imparting training to be appointed VCs. A first-of-its-kind training for the VCs, according to officials, will be provided in areas including legal, human resources and administration. For this, the department is planning to rope in top legal luminaries, former directors of Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Management, former VCs of central universities and renowned educationists from across the country.
Since several recruitments taken by the universities have got into legal tangles that delayed the process, the VCs will be trained in taking up recruitment process in a hassle-free manner, leaving no scope for the legal issues. The idea behind the training, as per officials, is to equip vice chancellors with necessary skills and make them ready for the university administration.
Plan to extend SSC courses to 100 more colleges
With an aim to equip students with industry-related skills as part of coursework, plans are afoot to expand Sector Skill Councils (SSC) courses to 100 more degree colleges including government and private in the next academic year. These courses will enable students acquire not just industry skills but also paid internships during the course of study.
To extend these courses to more colleges, Principal Secretary to Government (Education) Burra Venkatesham, who is also Commissioner of Collegiate Education, recently convened a meeting with eight officials from Sector Skill Councils, Higher Education Department, universities and degree colleges.
The officials, during the meeting, discussed progress of existing courses and decided to constitute a committee that will be asked to identify key areas and mechanism for introducing these courses in 100 more colleges. Currently, close to 36 Sector Skill Councils courses are being offered by around 30 degree colleges as part of undergraduate education.
The courses include BBA – Tourism and Travel Management, Retail Operations, BSc Physical Science – Gaming, BBA e-Commerce Operations, BBA Logistics, and BBA Travel and Hospitality. Introduced this academic year i.e., 2023-24, the courses have invoked a good response from students with several colleges recording more than 90 per cent admissions.
Students taking up these courses will be mapped to the industry concerned, which offers paid internships to the tune of Rs 6,000 to Rs 10,000 per month and guaranteed jobs upon completion of an undergraduate course. The Sector Skill Councils, part of the National Skill Development Corporation, is playing a key role in bridging the gap between the industry demands and skill requirements in the State.
