Selecting university managers

Source: http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=89416
By Dr Kedar N Shrestha

On 1st August 2006, Nepal University Teachers Association wrote a letter to Kathmandu University asking the Vice-Chancellor and the other officials to resign to pave the way for the smooth transition of the university administration to the new democratic order. The letter also stated that other universities will have to adopt the TU type Teacher Service Commission. The objective of this article is not to raise the legality and rationality of writing such a letter to the universities by the NUTA. The objectives of this article are (i) to draw the attention of the university professors on their role on university education, (ii) to explain who should qualify for the vice-chancellorships and how should they be selected and (iii) to indicate the new challenges in higher education.

Though the Nepal University Teachers' Association emphasized that the existing university administration must be removed to manage universities under new values of the new democratic system, they have not been able to approach the university management beyond the petty demand to terminate the few persons in administrative positions. They have not shown the broader vision to bring total transformation in the system of total governance of higher education of the country.

The Nepal University Teachers Association (NUTA) appears to be right in that they viewed the present administrators were appointed by a system which is feudalistic and bureaucratic in nature and which supports the exploitation of students who are the main stakeholders of the system. The students are exploited by many teachers who do not honestly work to provide quality instruction in the classrooms.
The educational feudal fiats also support and promote the commercialization of higher education where thousands of students are financially exploited. Unfortunately, the NUTA has not shown any concern for the cause of students who should be the ultimate beneficiary of the system. What is really needed in the new democratic political order is to ensure that the right of students to receive affordable quality relevant higher education is protected and ensured, and the organizations like NUTA should adopt a new strategy for their struggle - a new strategy which will recognize them as the protectors and promoters of students' right.
The NUTA has pleaded for the establishment of the TU type Teacher Service Commission (TSC) in other universities as if the TU's TSC has been functioning flawlessly. They forgot the series of scandals that surfaced on TSC operation. TU has operated the teacher recruitment with and without TSU. None of the system has functioned properly. It is surprising that NUTA has not pointed out any thing on the system of selection of Vice-chancellors.

In fact, the flaw lies in the very system of the selection and appointment of university managers -be they Vice-Chancellors of universities, Chairman of University Grants Commission, Chairman of Teacher Service Commission. Late King Mahendra appointed a Dazgeelinge school teacher as the Vice-Chancellor of TU. Again, he appointed an octogenarian educationists who was leading an ascetic life in Banaras. After the summary dismissal of Jagat Mohan Adhikary and his two colleagues as a scapegoat for 1980 student movement, the Panchayat government showed their irrational judgment in the selection of TU Vice-Chancellors. Three ex-zonal commissioners were appointed with the expectation that they might suppress the rising student movement.

Appointment and termination of TU Vice-Chancellors were not any better during the party government of 1990's. The party-in-power always tried to ensure that the TU VC should have allegiance to their party. Academic excellence, performance and competency did not form the crucial criteria for selection. Even when some VC's made sincere effort to provide effective management and leadership, the opposition party consultancy tried to dislodge them.

At present, quite a few universities of the country have no Vice-Chancellors and they have been operating for months without the chief executive officers. The spokesperson of the Ministry of Education informed that the government would appoint the VCs soon. If the same old process of VC selection is followed, there is very high probability that wrong people may be selected in this crucial position.

Today, Nepal's higher education is in shambles. The democratic governments after 1990 have abandoned the earlier policy on higher education propagated by the National Education System Plan (1971-76) without substituting it by a new one. The concept of a single non-affiliating national university has been replaced by multiple universities without any policy on the objectives and financing of higher education. To-day, the country has a variety of universities each operating on the basis of its Act. The Ministry of Education is almost a ministry of school education. The MOE is performing the task of a liaison office to present the budget of the universities to the Ministry of Finance. It has taken no action to correct the deteriorating higher education system.

Because of the absence of financing policy to universities, the universities like Purbanchal and Pokhara university have adopted the policy of raising their financial resources through affiliated colleges. There is no agency in the country to open and implement higher education program. At a critical time when the national government should be engaged in developing higher education which could support the national development efforts, particularly to support the achievement of the revolution for popular democracy, it appears there is total void to take any leadership.

Nepal's University Grants Commission (UGC) has remained almost another transit point to disburse the government financial grants to the universities. The UGC could have played a very useful role in the development of the policy and plan for higher education when the MOE has not performed this function. Being an organization represented by high-level persons of higher education, UGC should understand the paradigm shift in higher education (T Khania, TKP, Oct 14, 2006). Keeping in view the present political scenario, it appears that it will take some time to develop a policy to suit the popular aspiration of the popular movement.

Recently, Acts of the universities have been amended paving the way for the appointment of Vice-Chancellors of the universities. The current government did amend the 'university acts just to change the university Chancellorships from King to the Prime minister which is just a very triffle task. The founders of Kathmandu University had already done that. The real need of the hour is to institute a new system of selecting a Vice-Chancellor. The present VC selection system gives the Chancellor absolute authority. The country does not want to adopt the same failed system after the popular revolution. It will be a shame on the political parties and leaders of civil society if the Chancellor appointed Vice-Chancellors who possess no credential that the academic world can be proud of. At present the universities need strong leadership, competent academicians with vision, mission and recognized credibility. For this to happen, a new system of selection of Vice-Chancellors should be adopted. This selection committee should have representation from non-political academicians, former bureaucrats, industrialists, civil society leaders and recognized educationists. The selection committee should conduct serious search for candidates. The candidates should be required to present his/her mission, objective and expected output in logframe type. The selection team should interview the short-listed candidates and select one to be recommended for appointment by the Chancellor. This person should be appointed only for two years with provision for extension.

The role and expectations from higher education has changed all the world over and it is more true for Nepal where this level of education has been ignored by the government in terms of policy direction and financing. As new policy may not be formed within a short time, the universities should be managed by seasoned professional managers who can single handed bring visible improvement in terms of quality and relevance of education in the respective universities. Selection of a VC based on the new selection system may take some time. A senior-most professor can be given ad-hoc in-charge for some time before the selected person is appointed.

Posted on: 2006-10-22 22:23:43 (Server Time)