GUIDELINES FOR MODEL ACT
(General approach . Model Act . Central Legislation] For governance/management, universities will have to depend on the Act. Amendments to Acts are made to counter the ills / shortcomming of the past Acts which they replace. The Acts generally do not have full perception of the future and hence lack flexibility, which is the essense of development oriented managment. The Act must provide for future infrastructural adjustment required for innovations, or organisational or structural changes necessary for improving the quality of education.
Current tendency is to have common provisions for universities in a State. In fact, in many States there is a single Act for all the Universities in the States. The very idea. of the exercise undertaken by the Commission is to provide Alternate Models within the University system. Some guidelines for the purpose sure needed to avoid past mistakes by building in basic principles of positive management within the system. The suggestion of a Model Act is a step in this direction.
20.0 GENERAL APPROACH The over-riding principles which may govern the formulation of a Model Act for Universities, bearing in mind the deficiencies in the existing legal framework and of the changed socio-economic environment, can be listed as follows:
[1] Autonomy of the University system, coupled with provision for its responsibility and accountability to the Society.
[2] Clear and unambiguous enunciation of the powers and responsibilities of the University.
[3] A clear-cut, well-defined division and separation of powers among the University authorities / bodies.
[4] Broadening the role perspective of the university,with effective linkages with other social sub-systems.
[5] Depoliticisation of the Campus and ensuring of healthy academic environment
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(6] Decentralisation of decision making, by specific division of powers and responsibilities among officers.
[7] Debureaucratisation of the administrative machinery by infusing academic thinking into the University administration; adequate flexibility in decision making and execution guided by academic rationale, without being technically bogged down to set rules and regulations.
These principles shall promote efficiency, economy and responsiveness of the University administration.
With the above guidelines in mind, the Model Act / Statutes / Ordinances of the University have been suggested in this Chapter. Needless to state that, given the variety of universities and their structural / functional differences in different regions of the country,it is next to impossible to suggest one single Model Act for the entire country. It will also be unfair to completely ignore the genuine diversity among Indian Universities. Act / Statutes Ordinances have two dimensions: form and content. As regards form, the Act generally outlines the broad legal framework, dealing with structure and units of the University Organisation, its objectives and powers and is indicative of the spirit and general direction along which the University is expected to proceed. The Act does not dwell at length into the details of the operational dimension. The Statutes / Ordinances fill-up the flesh to the skeleton structure given by the Act. All the ground-rules and working procedures are detailed by them.
Above all, every possible situation of decision action cannot be fully visualised and provided for in any of the Acts Statutes / Ordinances. There will always be need and scope for spot-decisions. Actually, the University system must appreciate the role of such unspelt conventions and academic practices, in so far as they do not contradict the spirit of the Act Statutes Ordinances.
The possible content of a Model Act / Statutes Ordinances have been suggested as follows. However, those features / provisions of the Act / Statutes / Oridinance which need not be changed have not been recounted.
20.1 MODEL ACT
20.1.1 PREAMBLE Objectives and Powers of the University shall be as broad-based as possible. The extension dimension shall be given due emphasis. The University
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should be expected to participate in and contribute to the regional / national socioeconomic development by means of socially relevant research, education and applications. it should strive to inculcate the national values and goals, particularly the sense of nationality and integration, inter-religious tolerance and one-ness of the Indian society and eradication of illiteracy, poverty and other social evils.
The University system should have adequate provision for earning their resources, [atleast partially], by means of consultancy-based R & D Projects and for augmentation and productive utilisation of their assets and resources
The University system should be enabled and encouraged to inter-act with the National Laboratories and other national and regional research centres and R & D Wings of industrial undertakings.
20.1.2 OFFICERS OF THE UNIVERSITY UNDER MODEL ACT It has already been recommended that the State Governor should be the Visitor of the Universities in the States. He should not be an officer of the University.
VISITOR The Visitor [President of India/ State Governor] shall discharge his constitutional responsibilities vis-a-vis the University system; and shall carry out the recommendations of the Council of Ministers at the Centre / State, as the case may be. However, there would be an element of discretion and judgement in nominating members to the University bodies and authorities, out of the panel of names recommended by the Government in consultation with the Vice-Chancellor. The Government may be required to suggest names in the ratio of 2 or 3:1 i.e., if there is one vacancy, two or three names shall be recommended by the Government.Similarly, the visitor shall have some discretion in selecting the Vice-Chancellor from out of the panel of names recommended by the duly constituted Search Committee. The Government should not thrust any particular name on the Visitor. This provision is suggested to provide against appointments being made an purely political considerations.
However, the Visitor shall not have any arbitrary power of suspending / removing the Vice- Chancellor, unless after the due process of enquiry, by a judicial authority (equivalent to a bench of the High Court) wherein the Vice- Chancellor concerned is given an opportunity to defend himself.
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The Statutes-making power, within the legal framework of the University Act, should be largely left to the University Authorities, viz., the Executive Council (Syndicate) and / or Academic Council. The Visitor need not have the final authority of approving or disapproving all the Statutes proposed by the University, though he should have the right to annul Statutes in exceptional cases where it is in conflict with provisions of the Act.
CHANCELLOR In order to make available to the Vice-Chancellor and other officers the counsel of a senior citizen, an honororific post of Chancellor could be provided in the State Universities also. The Chancellor could be appointed by the Visitor on the recommendation of the Executive Council.
VICE-CHANCELLOR The Vice-Chancellor's term should be five years subject to the age limit of 65 years, with or without a provision for re-appointment for one more term in the same university. The Vice-Chancellor should be appointed by the Visitor out of a panel of three names recommended by the Search Committee essentially consisting of:
[1] nominee of the Chairman, UGC / Chairman, State Council for Higher Education
[2] nominee of the (Syndicate] Executive Council;
[3] nominee of the Visitor, who shall be the Chairman of the Committee.
In the interest of continuity, it should be provided that a Vice-Chancellor whose term has come to an end, shall continue in office till his successor assumes office.
PRO-VICE-CHANCELLOR A provision should be inserted for appointing one or more Pro-Vice-Chancellors. The term of the Pro-Vice- Chancellor shall be co-terminus with that of the Vice- Chancellor. His appointment should be made by the Executive Council on the recommendation of the Vice- Chancellor. It must be made obligatory that the Registrar carries out all directions/of the Pro-Vice- Chancellor as he does those of the ViceChancellor.
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DEANS OF FACULTIES / SCHOOLS - DIRECTOR OF INSTITUTES Every Faculty or a School should be headed by a Dean and every Institute by a Director. The Appointment of a Dean / Director should be made by the Executive Council on the recommendation of the Vice- Chancellor.
THE REGISTRAR There should be a provision for appointment of one or more Registrars. The appointment of a Registrar shall be for a period of five years with a provision for a second term. His term could be co-terminus with that of the ViceChancellor. The Registrar could be appointed from amongst the faculty members, who will revert to their teaching position at the end of his term.
THE CONTROLLER OF EXAMINATIONS: The designation should be changed to that of Registrar (Evaluation].
THE FINANCE OFFICER: The Finance Officer should also be redesignated as Registrar (Finance].
OTHER OFFICERS Besides the above three statutory officers, who conventionally exist in the Indian Universities, few more statutory officers have become necessary to fulfil the new demands being made upon the University System.
[1] Dean of Colleges: who shall be responsible for the upkeep, development and proper utilisation of infra- structural facilities in the affiliated / constituent colleges; shall inspect and monitor from time to time the extent of fulfilment of affiliation conditions stipulated by the university. He shall work under the direction of the Collegiate Council, as its Member- Secretary.
[2] Dean (Curriculum Development): who shall be responsible for designing of courses, by feeding the Boards of studies Academic Council with updated
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curricular changes; Co-ordinating the work of different Boards of studies and helping them evolve new and inter- disciplinary courses of studies and research;
[3] Dean of Research: who shall be responsible for the execution and monitoring of the research schemes formulated / approved by the University Research Board, and for ensuring that the guidelines prescribed by the Board are carried out by the Faculties / Departments.
[4] Dean [Extension]: who shall working under a Board of Extension as its Member-Secretary organise and execute the extension programmes of the university including extension education, participation in developmental activities by the faculty and the students, linkages with industry, national laboratories etc;
[5] Dean [Planning & Monitoring]: who shall assist in the preparation of plans of the various Departments / Centres of the University, prepare the aggregative and perspective plan for the University, monitor the implementation of the plans and evaluate the outcomes periodically. He shall work under the direction of a Planning and Development Board as its Member-Secretary.
[6] Dean (Students Welfare]: who shall look after the Campus amenities such as canteen, reading rooms, recreation centre, Co-operative Societies, Health care and other facilities for the students.
[7] Dean [Human Resource Development]: who shall be responsible for assessing the training needs of the teaching and non-teaching staff of the University and organise training and development programmes for them. He would also be responsible for providing amenities for all employees and generally look after employee welfare.
All these offices need not be full-time positions. Professors of the University could be appointed to some or all of these positions. Two or more of these offices could also be combined. As and when the quantum of work calls for, separate /full-time positions could be created.
20.1.3 AUTHORITIES / BODIES / COMMITTEES UNDER THE MODEL ACT As already recommended in Chapter 10, the University should have only two Authorities: The Executive Council (to be restyled as the Board of Management] and the Academic Council.
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The Board of Management (Executive Council] should consist of not more than 15 members: not more than three of whom being Government nominees/ex-officio members representing the education, finance, and planning functions of the Government. Another representive should be there of the State Council for Higher Education / Council of Central Universities. In affiliating Universities one-third of members should represent principals of the affiliated colleges, and of the remaining, two should represent University faculties (one Professor and one Reader] and three should be nominees of the Visitor from among distinguished educationists. In Unitary Universities 5 University Teachers viz, 2 Deans, 2 Professors and 1 Reader, should be there as there will be no Principals. All representation should be on the basis of seniority and rotation. The members of the Board of Management should be ex-officio members of the Societal Consultative Committee (Court] but not of the Academic Council. The Board of Management shall be the Principal executive body, responsible for framing Statutes/ Ordinances / Regulations, other than the Academic ones which shall be in the sole purview of the Academic Council.
SOCIETAL CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE [S.C.C]
[SENATE / COURT] The Senate, if included, should only be a deliberative and consultative body, and not an Authority. It should not be saddled with the powers to over-ride decisions of the Syndicate and Academic Council or other bodies of the University. It should be renamed as Societal Consultative Council [S.C.C.]. The S.C.C. should have the following powers and functions.
[1] to review from time to time the broad policies and programmes of the University and to suggest measures for the improvement and the development of the University;
[2] to consider and pass resolutions on the Annual Report and the Annual Accounts, together with the Audited Reports of the University; and
[3] render advice on matters referred to them by the ViceChancellor or another authority of the University.
There should be no election to the S.C.C. The representatives of teachers/principals should be selected by rotation on the basis of seniority or by nomination. The total size should not exceed 75 to 100. About 40% of these members should be the representatives of Industry, Commerce, Legistature, Voluntary agencies, civic authorities,
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Agriculture and so on. Due representation be given to the, students which should be based on merit determined by examination results, excellence in games and sports or other extra-curricular and co- curricular activities. Representatives of the non-teaching staff of the University, should also be there.
THE ACADEMIC COUNCIL The Academic Council should consist of all Deans of Faculties, Chairmen of various Boards of Studies,and representatives of Heads of University Departments Colleges and Professors, Readers and Lecturers of the University. The size should not exceed 50 to 75. There shall be no election to this authority also. The Academic Council should be the final authority to decide on all academic matters and frame Statutes Ordinances Regulations relating to academic issues. There could be Standing Committee(s) of the Academic Council, wherever felt necessary.