Explained | Kerala Government’s bill to remove the Governor as Chancellor of State Universities Premium

Why has the Kerala government introduced a Bill to remove Governor Arif Mohammed Khan as the Chancellor of State universities? What are the arguments for and against such a move? How does it affect the autonomy of universities?

The story so far: Kerala government has tabled University Laws (amendment) Bill in the State Assembly to amend laws relating to the governance of State universities and remove Governor Arif Mohammed Khan as the Chancellor of State universities. This rounds off several weeks of political confrontation between the LDF Government and the Raj Bhavan that began with the Supreme Court’s invalidation of the Kerala Technological University (KTU) Vice-Chancellor’s (VC) appointment on the grounds that it violated University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations. Following this, Mr. Khan had sought the resignations of 11 other VCs on the ground that the government had appointed them through the same process deemed unlawful by the apex court.

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The proposed legislation will amend the statutes of 14 universities established by legislative Acts in Kerala and remove the Governor as the Chancellor of those universities. The Bill will supplant the Governor and give the government power to appoint eminent academicians as Chancellors of various universities, thus ending the Governor’s watchdog role in university administration. The Bill also provides provision to limit the term of the appointed chancellor to five years. However, it also says that the serving chancellor can be reappointed for another term.

Mr. Khan and the State Government had been at loggerheads for months now. It reached a simmering point when the Governor accused Kannur University VC Prof. Gopinath Raveendran of plotting to endanger his life at the 2019 Indian History Congress, which was held at Kannur. Mr. Khan was referring to noted Historian Irfan Habib allegedly heckling him on stage.

This took a turn for the worse when the Governor denied assent to the controversial Lok Ayukta (Amendment) and University Laws (Amendment) Bills earlier passed by the State Assembly. The fallout from this stand-off between the Governor and the Government led to Mr. Khan claiming that he has the power to dismiss ministers who criticise him. Mr Khan even went to the extent of suggesting that the Chief Minister should take action against Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal as he has “ceased to enjoy my pleasure.”

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The worsening relationship between the State Government and Mr. Khan reached a tipping point with the Supreme Court order invalidating KTU VC’s appointment.