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For more than 12 years now, Saurashtra University (SU) – which is among the largest universities in Gujarat in terms of student enrollment – has not had a regular registrar. After hesitating for nine years, finally the Special Unit Shortlisted candidate for this position in June last year but the selection is still awaiting state government approval.
With the main campus in Rajkot, the university has around three students enrolled, making it one of the largest state-funded universities. It has jurisdiction over the districts of Rajkot, Surendrangar, Jamnagar, Devbhumi Dwarka, and Amreli. In 2014, SU also became the first university in Gujarat to be awarded an A grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).
However, the university has not had a regular registrar since Gajendra Jani was removed from the position on 21 June 2011, following a Gujarat High Court order which ruled that Jani did not meet the eligibility criteria for the position. Jani had taken over in May 2007 but his selection and appointment were subsequently challenged in the High Court on the grounds that he did not have the required qualifications for the position.
Inside information
Since Jani’s dismissal, the university has had six individuals serving as registrars in charge for a total of nine terms: JM Mamtora, Ramesh Parmar, Dhiren Pandya, Jatin Soni, Nilesh Soni and Amit Parekh.
They include Mamtoura, a former Controller of Examinations (COE), and Jatin Soni, who retired as Director of Physical Education at SU, serving for 16 days and one year, respectively. Parmar, Deputy Registrar, served as Registrar in Charge for three terms (August 2011 to October 2014; 23 July 2015 to 9 August 2015, and December 2018 to June 2020). Pandya, a Deputy Registrar who was promoted to Academic Officer, has been appointed Registrar in Charge twice (October 2014 to July 2015 and August 2015 to December 2018).
Nilesh Soni, Librarian of the League of Arab States, was appointed Registrar in Charge in July 2021 and has held the position until February 4, 2022. Parekh, Deputy Registrar, was appointed Registrar in Charge on February 4, 2022, and continues to hold the position to date.
Records accessed by The Indian Express show that SU started the process of recruiting registrants three times during these years but failed to get a regular employee so far. The university had advertised the vacancy in July 2013 and again in August 2015 but no candidates had been called for interviews. SU issued its third recruitment notice on 27 June 2019, following a directive from the state Ministry of Education to follow instructions from the then Chief Minister of Gujarat to fill the positions of registrants in 15 state-run universities. The directives from the prime minister came after a meeting with vice-chancellors and responsible registrars or registrars at these universities on June 18, 2019, records show. In response to SU’s latest announcement, 25 candidates applied for the post, including Gitesh Joshi, deputy registrar at SU who worked as registrar at Central University, Gujarat, Gandhinagar, and Govind Guru University, Godhra, among others. Other applicants included Deputy Registrar Parmar, Harish Ruparelia, Municipal Secretary of Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC), and Arvindkumar Daduk, then-In-charge Registrar of Vir Narmad University of South Gujarat, Surat. The SU Audit Committee meeting held on January 9, 2020 concluded that nine of the 25 applicants met the eligibility criteria.
Citing alleged irregularities during his tenure as Registrar of other universities, a meeting of the union or executive board of SU on June 9, 2022, decided not to contact Joshi for an interview to fill any vacancy at SU. In the end, the selection committee called eight candidates for in-person interviews on June 20, 2022. Only two of them – Dadoc and Ruparelia – turned up. After being interviewed, the selection committee recommended Ruparelia for appointment as a registrar for five years.
On June 24, 2022, the registrar in charge of Soaret State University wrote to the Deputy Secretary in the State Department of Education, seeking approval from the Ministry for the appointment of Ruparelia, who used to teach mechanical engineering at Lakhdarji Engineering College, Morbi, before joining RMC in 1996 as a registrar. A year later, the unit is still waiting for a response from the government.
“Servant of the University”
Professor Girish Bhimani, who was appointed as Vice-Chancellor on February 6, 2022, says the university is in dire need of a regular registrar. The Registrar is the University Secretary. His position is as important in a university setting as that of chief secretary in state government. We need a regular registrar to improve the SU administration,” he says. Why has SU not filled the position for 12 years? Responding to the question, Professor Bimani said, “For one reason or another, the California State University administration did not even call candidates for interviews after inviting applications for the position of registrar in the past. We who mustered up the courage to conduct personal interviews for the positions of Registrar and Examination Controller, shortlist a candidate for appointment, and send his name to the state government for their approval,” said the responsible VC.
The SU selection committee shortlisted Nilesh Soni for the post of Screening Controller in June last year and he took over weeks later. His appointment did not require the approval of the state government.
“It is true that more than a year has passed since we sent to the Government the name chosen by the Business Unit Selection Committee for the position of Registrar. But our limitation is that we can only recommend and write to the Government. We cannot do anything beyond that,” Professor Bimani added. Dharam Kampalya, a member of the SU Union The positions of registrars in most other government-run positions are vacant. The registrar is like the chief executive who ensures the implementation of orders and decisions made by the union and the office of the vice-chancellor. Without a regular registrar, the administration of the university is hampered,” Kampalya said, adding The repeated appeals to the government in this regard have not led to a positive response so far.
A SU insider said that over the past decade, registrants have been changed according to the will of some union members. “Some SU members have remained very powerful for the better part of the past decade as the university got the VC that was fairly docile. So, the SU members are in the habit of calling all the shots and removing the acting registrar if they are shown the rulebook,” said the person who claimed. He is privy to the details This competition for control of SU means that the university administration can never complete the process of appointing a regular registrar.” Another insider said partisan politics had permeated the unit’s affairs. Recently, some employees have begun to treat the unit as a backyard complementary to the political agenda of the political party to which they pledge allegiance. This means that the academic priorities and interests of students take a back seat, and obedient officers are assigned to important offices,” the insider said. “In order to force educational departments to appoint a new registrar in a timely manner after the incumbent completes his term, current laws provide for the payment of an allowance Fees are for the responsible registrar for one year only.
Throughout this time, the university’s academic performance has suffered with the NAAC downgrading it to a B in 2021.
Meanwhile, the state government says SU’s selection of rubarilia is still under consideration. “SU’s contacts seeking approval for the appointment of Ruparelia as Registrar is still under consideration by the Deputy Secretary,” said a senior DOE official who requested anonymity.
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