MU in the news again for wrong reasons : Vacant top post
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: December 08 2020 -

The student bodies have a point. How long can a University, that too a Central University, be allowed to function without its top man or top woman?

This is exactly the reality at Manipur University, which for long has been making news for all the wrong reasons.

Look at the recent past.

Before the then High Court appointed Administrator Jarnail Singh sought to be relieved as the top man of the varsity, organisations, such as NEFIS had openly questioned the logic of letting MU function under a Court appointed Administrator for such a long time.

NEFIS may have a point here, but now that the Administrator himself has quit, why is the top post lying vacant?

A regular VC may be out of the question at the moment, in the face of a petition filed by former VC of MU, Professor AP Pandey but why not a VC in charge to look after the office of the top post in the university is the question that has been raised.

Latest report coming in from the Ministry of Education, Department of Higher Education says that the proposal to appoint a VC in charge is under process.

Wonder how long this process will take, for simple logic says that the senior most Professor at MU can be appointed to the post.

This reasoning obviously does not need rocket science technology, but for reasons which have not been spelt out, the Ministry of Education has deemed it fit to just convey to the Registrar of MU that the process to appoint a VC in charge is underway.

How long will this take has not been spelt out and the question is, 'Is this the way a Central University should be managed and administered?'

Appointing the senior most Professor of MU as the VC in charge should not be too cumbersome a task that it should take long.

Jarnail Singh was relieved of his duty as the Administrator on November 30 and it was known much before November 30 that he would be quitting the post.

It is already December 7 and while one week may not be that long, it says something profound that a Central varsity is being allowed to remain without the top man for a week.

Imagine such a situation gripping other Central universities such as Delhi University or Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Manipur University is not new to having VC in charge and one just has to recollect the days before AP Pandey was appointed as the VC.

Back then MU saw at least three senior Professors being appointed as the VC in charge to look after its affairs.

This is also not the time for MU to remain headless, for remember this is admission time and a large number of students have applied for admission here in different streams.

The global pandemic has also ensured that there are more students seeking admission at MU this time.

In such a situation how long can MU remain headless is the question.

Before things blow out of proportion, it would be good if the Ministry of Education steps in and name the VC in charge as soon as possible, for as six student bodies have asserted, they are on protest mode and everyone knows what this can mean to the university.

As the Rector of MU, Governor Najma Heptulla and Chief Minister N Biren may need to see what may be done to resolve the issue at hand.