UGC chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar said on Thursday that state governments must accept the recent draft notification, which gives the governor, who is the ex-officio chancellor of state-aided universities, a greater role in appointing vice-chancellors.

The draft notification, released by Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on January 5, came at a time when the Bengal government has come up with notifications that say a search-cum-selection committee appointed by the Supreme Court will draw a panel of names for the post of VC. The names would be set in order of preference by the chief minister.

The chancellor would have to sign on the names forwarded by the chief minister, says the Bengal plan approved by the Supreme Court. It passed the order on July 8, 2024, to appoint VCs in 34 Bengal universities.

Kumar told reporters in Calcutta: “The role of the chancellor in appointing VCs in state universities has existed since Independence. The draft has recognised this.”

Asked for a reaction, Bengal education minister Bratya Basu told The Telegraph: “The UGC chairman is speaking the language of the BJP. The state governments must have a greater say in appointing VCs for universities that the state government funds.”

States like Bengal and Tamil Nadu, ruled by non-BJP parties, have alleged that the Union government is trying to centralise power by granting the governor a greater say in selecting VCs for state universities.

The UGC chairman defended the draft regulations on Thursday in Calcutta while attending the convocation ceremony of St Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata.

“Since Independence or even before Independence, it is the chancellor who always used to appoint the VC. So, there is no new change in the draft regulations...,” Kumar told reporters when asked about the 2025 draft that has ignited protests.

“We see that the regulations are in tune with the objectives of NEP (National Education Policy) 2020 and these apply to all the universities, whether they are central or state.”

When The Telegraph told Kumar about the Bengal government’s contention that the state should have a larger say in state-aided universities, instead of a governor who is a nominated head, the UGC chairman said: “The state university representatives will be representing the selection committee. Then the chancellor receives a panel of three to five names and one will be selected as VC.”

“This draft regulations will be binding on the state governments,” he added.

In Bengal, the confrontation between the governor and the state government over the appointment of VCs had escalated to such a height that the state government passed a bill in the Assembly in June 2022, placing the chief minister as chancellor of state-aided universities instead of the governor.

The bill did not get Bengal governor C.V. Ananda Bose’s assent.

The state government in May 2023 promulgated the West Bengal University Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023, to constitute a five-member search committee that will include a nominee of the chief minister and recommend a panel of names to the governor for the selection of a VC.

Following the differences, the Supreme Court constituted the search-cum-selection committee on July 8, to draw a panel and forward it to the chief minister who will set the names in order of preference.

Minister Basu said: “The UGC chairman must refer to the July 8 order.”