Late Night Nod to Odisha Universities Amendment Bill 2024

BJD Alleges Bill will Saffronise Education in Odisha

By Pradeep Kumar Panda

Bhubaneswar, April 3: The Odisha Legislative Assembly early on Thursday (April 3, 2025) passed two important Bills after an overnight marathon debate in which BJD members actively took part, but Congress legislators gave it a miss.

‘The Odisha Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2024’, which seeks to give more autonomy to universities for recruitment and other activities, and ‘The Odisha State Highways Authority Bill, 2025’, which seeks to establish a body on the lines of NHAI for planning, development, maintenance and management of highways and major roads in the state, were passed by voice vote after long hours of debate.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, his deputy Pravati Parida and around a dozen ministers remained present in the House for the entire night till the varsity Bill was passed around 4.29 a.m. after a debate of over 12 hours.

Many senior members of the BJD, including eight-time MLA Ranendra Pratap Swain, former ministers Arun Kumar Sahoo, Ganeswar Behera and Pramila Mallik, who is also the Opposition’s chief whip, participated in the debate on the universities Bill that started at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.

The House witnessed a heated exchange of words between the Opposition and the treasury benches during the discussion on ‘The Odisha Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2024’.

The Opposition members strongly demanded that the Bill be referred to the Select Committee as the matter was pending with the Supreme Court.

However, Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj countered all allegations of the Opposition and replied to their queries, leading to the Bill being passed by voice vote.

In his more than an hour-long speech, BJD’s Arun Kumar Sahoo, a former Higher Education Minister, pointed out that the previous government had passed an amendment to the universities Bill in 2020 and it was challenged by the University Grant Commission (UGC) in the Orissa High Court. However, after the high court upheld the Bill, the UGC again challenged it in the Supreme Court and the matter was under consideration of the apex court.

Key features of Odisha Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2024 are:

Preparations will be in progress for the appointment of a new Vice Chancellor at least six months prior to the conclusion of the outgoing incumbent’s term.

A three-member Appointment Committee will oversee this process. One member will be designated by the Chancellor, another by the University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairperson, and the third will be appointed by the university syndicate.

The committee will shortlist three candidates, ensuring that none faces any pending cases with the Anti-Corruption Department. The Governor will appoint the Vice Chancellor from the shortlisted candidates, with the nominee serving a four-year term or until reaching the age of 70, whichever comes first.

Reappointment is permissible but limited to a single additional term. The Chancellor retains the option to consult the state government as necessary. In instances where the Vice Chancellor requires leave, responsibilities will temporarily transfer to a senior professor.

Should the Vice Chancellor commit administrative errors, the Chancellor is empowered to demand an explanatory report detailing why no corrective measures were initially implemented. Before any disciplinary directive is issued, the Chancellor will engage in discussions with the state government. Investigations will be conducted as a preliminary step before any suspension actions.

BJD strongly opposed Odisha Universities Amendment Bill 2024 on several grounds.

BJD strongly demanded that the Bill be referred to the Select Committee as the matter was pending with the Supreme Court. This bill will lead to ‘saffronisation’ of Higher Education in Odisha.

BJD Government had passed an amendment to the universities Bill in 2020 and it was challenged by the University Grant Commission (UGC) in the Orissa High Court. However, after the high court upheld the Bill, the UGC again challenged it in the Supreme Court and the matter is under consideration of the apex court.

When the matter is with the Supreme Court and with the high court upholding it, there is no point in bringing an amendment Bill. BJP Government should wait for the Supreme Court judgment and then bring an amendment Bill. The bill may hit legal hurdles in future.

Bill passed in 2020 had abolished the syndicate system in university administration and kept the recruitment rights with the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC). However, in this amendment Bill, there is a provision to reintroduce the syndicate system and bestow recruitment rights to the vice-chancellors.

The bill curtails power of Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) and gives all power to UGC for appointment of VC in State University. BJD is totally opposing these provisions. There should not be centralisation of higher education in the State since Education is in concurrent list of Constitution.

It is a matter of 15 state public universities as these institutions are governed under the Act. In order to prevent a hold-up in the recruitment of teachers and eliminate procedural bottlenecks, the Bill seeks to recruit the educators through a committee of academicians. But committee of Academician will be chosen by UGC and not OPSC.

A three-member panel will be set up to select vice-chancellors. The committee will have a member recommended by the state government, one nominated by the chancellor [Governor] and one by the UGC. So there is no saying of OPSC. It is centralisation of appointment. This is Centralising control. Centre must not attempt to run state universities by proxy appointments

In a federal setup, attempts at undermining any stakeholder in the subject matter of education, which is in the Concurrent List, will prove disruptive.  Similarly, the Draft UGC (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment and Promotion of Teachers and Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education) Regulations, 2025, seeks to do precisely this.

Demonstrating the Centre’s penchant for facilitating control over institutions through recruitment. It proposes to divest State governments of their role in the selection process for Vice Chancellor (VC) of universities.

All powers are sought to be vested in the Chancellor — i.e., the Governor in most State universities — by taking away the function of constituting the search-cum-selection committee from the higher education departments.

Such a committee would comprise a nominee each of the Chancellor; UGC Chairman; and of the respective university syndicate/senate. The Chancellor would appoint the VC out of three to five names recommended by the committee.

Any violations, the draft warns, could attract debarment from participating in UGC schemes and denial of funding under the UGC Act. This comes against the backdrop of conflicts between State governments and Raj Bhavans on appointing VCs, which have deprived several universities, particularly in Tamil Nadu, of leadership.

Naturally, opposition has come from several States, including Tamil Nadu, which passed a House resolution urging the Centre to immediately withdraw the draft. Tamil Nadu has argued that the draft is not only against the basic federal principles enshrined in the Constitution but also poses a threat to the higher education system. Kerala has endorsed this stance.

A proposal to make non-academics eligible for the VC’s job has also drawn criticism. The draft says such non-academics must have served for at least 10 years at a senior level in industry, public administration, public policy and/or public sector undertakings, with a proven track record of significant academic or scholarly contributions.  This could be used to appoint BJP RSS loyalists as VC.

The UGC would do well to remove anti-federal clauses from the draft regulations and allay apprehensions on other provisions. In the long run, it should aim for reforms to obliterate any governmental role in university administration, except maybe, for funding, and elevate them into truly autonomous institutions that nurture excellence. Excessive interference of Centre will hamper education environment of state.

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