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News India Live, Digital Desk: The long standing deadlock over the appointment of Vice Chancellors (VC) in the universities of Jharkhand has now ended. Governor Santosh Gangwar has given his official assent to the much awaited ‘Jharkhand State University Bill, 2026’. Under this new law, now the power to appoint Vice Chancellor (VC) and Pro Vice Chancellor (Pro-VC) in the universities of the state will not be with any one person, but jointly with the Governor and the Chief Minister. After being passed again by the Assembly on March 17 this year, this bill has now taken the form of law.
A middle path was found after the conflict
It may be noted that during the monsoon session this year, the Hemant government had passed a bill, in which there was a provision to give the complete power of appointment from the Governor to the state government. There was a sharp confrontation between Raj Bhavan and the government on this issue. In view of the prevailing circumstances, the Governor had returned the bill for legal opinion. After this, a revised bill was brought in the budget session of March, in which joint participation of the Governor and the government has been ensured.
Search committee will select names, Governor will make formal appointment
According to the new law, a high level ‘Search Committee’ will be formed for the selection of Vice Chancellors.
Preparing the Panel: This committee will prepare a panel of 3 to 5 eligible candidates.
Final Selection: This panel will be sent to the Governor (Chancellor) and the Chief Minister, where a name will be approved by mutual consent.
Formal Order: After completion of the selection process, the Chancellor (Governor) will formally issue the appointment letter. If there is no consensus on the names sent, a new list can be sought from the committee.
The structure of the ‘Search Committee’ will be like this
To ensure transparency, clear rules for the formation of the search committee have been made in the bill. The Chairman of the Committee will be an eminent educationist nominated by the Chancellor. Other members of the committee include:
An academician from a Central University nominated by the State Government.
A representative of the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Secretary, Higher and Technical Education Department.
The Registrar of the concerned University, who will act as Secretary (will not have voting rights).
What will be the benefit to the students? Syllabus and standards will be the same
The primary objective of this bill is to bring uniformity in the academic standards of all the universities in the state. Now the curriculum of education will be unified in the universities of entire Jharkhand and the teaching methods will be standardized. This will increase the credibility of the degrees awarded by the state universities. Additionally, students will have equal access to modern laboratories, libraries and expert faculty, thereby fostering a culture of research and innovation.
