The state government has issued an advertisement inviting applications for the appointment of full-term vice-chancellors in the 36 state-aided universities following a Supreme Court order.

The universities have been functioning without a full-term VC for around one-and-a-half years.

The higher education department’s advertisement, published on Friday, mentions the relevant sections of the UGC guidelines for the appointments.

The apex court took up the matter of VC appointment after the state government approached the court challenging the Bengal governor’s decision to appoint “authorised” temporary VCs allegedly without consulting the government.

The UGC regulations mentioned in the advertisement say a person possessing the highest level of competence, integrity, morals and institutional commitment is to be appointed as VC.

“The person to be appointed as a vice-chancellor should be a distinguished academician with a minimum of ten years’ experience as professor in a university or ten years’ of experience in a reputed research and/academic administrative organisation with proof of having demonstrated academic leadership,” the advertisement says.

Education minister Bratya Basu had said on August 22, 2023, that governor C.V. Ananda Bose, in his capacity as ex-officio chancellor of state universities, was flouting UGC norms while appointing officiating VCs.

“It has to be borne in mind that we are trying to comply with the UGC guidelines, which include 10 years of professorship — the highest professorship, not assistant or associate rank — as a prerequisite (for VC appointment). Why this is being defied by Raj Bhavan is not clear to us,” Basu had then said.

In the past year, the chancellor appointed two former IPS officers and a former Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court as VCs of state-aided universities.

A higher education department official said the Supreme Court has made it clear that the UGC norms could not be flouted while appointing full-term VCs.

The advertisement says: “The selection for the post of Vice-Chancellor should be done through proper identification by a panel of 3-5 persons by a Search-cum-Selection-Committee.... The members of Search-cum-Selection-Committee should be persons of eminence in the sphere of higher education and shall not be connected in any manner with the university concerned or its colleges.”

A former VC of a state-aided university welcomed the apex court’s intervention because the court wants VCs to be appointed based on merit.

“Before 2022, the state government, too, had appointed candidates who did not have the required qualifications,” the former VC said.

In March 2023, Calcutta High Court had set aside the re-appointment of VCs in several state-aided universities while noting that some of them did not have 10 years’ experience as professor in a university or 10 years’ experience working in a reputable research and/or administrative organisation with proof of having demonstrated academic leadership.