G.B.Patnaik assumes office as VC of Lucknow University

Updated on: Saturday, November 03, 2012

Uttar Pradesh governor BL Joshi on Friday appointed his principal secretary GB Patnaik as an officiating vice-chancellor of Lucknow University, a day after the tenure of incumbent Prof Manoj Mishra came to an end.

The 1978 batch IAS officer is likely to hold the charge till his retirement due in March 2013.

The Raj Bhawan in its order said that Patnaik will hold the charge for a maximum tenure of six months or till further order.

The appointment, the order said, has been done since the search committee has not been able to select a regular VC. The search committee, which should be constituted three months before completion of tenure of incumbent VC, comprises university's executive council, a high court judge and UP governor. But the committee was never constituted.

Patnaik will be the 38th VC and the third bureaucrat to occupy the top academic chair in the history of the 90-year-old university. Before him, Ashok Kumar Mustafi (1973-75) and Girija Prasad Pandey (1981-82) had been the vice-chancellor of the prestigious state university. Speaking to reporters, Patnaik, after taking charge said that until now his role was restricted to being a facilitator. "But now, it is the question of responsibility," he said and added that the interests of students will be his utmost priority.

Outgoing VC, Prof Mishra, whose three-year tenure saw a host of controversies including anomalies in admission procedure for academic session 2012-13, said that he tried his level best to manage the university's affairs. "But, I apologise, if there were any mistakes on my part," he told a gathering of teachers, university employees and students.

Patnaik's elevation also came a day after Lucknow University Teachers Association expressed its reservation over posting an IAS officer as VC as it demoralizes the teaching fraternity.

"This is the top position that an academician gets in his/her lifetime. Even if that is given to an IAS, then what remains with the academicians," said a Luta member.

University teachers said that instead of education and student welfare, it were issues pertaining to administration and finances that ruled the roost.

"Administration is just a part of the overall performance of a VC. First and foremost comes students' interest and upliftment of educational standards," said a LU teacher. As a norm, the senior most professor of the university should be given the charge of VC. In LU's case, Prof AK Sengupta of the department of economics happens to be the senior most faculty member. However, Sengupta declined to take up the responsibility, sources said.

For some, on the other hand, elevation of Patnaik to the post meant better administrative coordination and networking, which may bail out the university from a number of legal issues in which the institution found itself entangled in last few years. Professor Sudhir Kumar of Lucknow university said that appointment of Patnaik as VC of University of Lucknow is of critical importance at this juncture. Being the principal secretary to the Governor he is well aware of university functioning and problems of academics.

G.B.Patnaik assumes office as VC of Lucknow University

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