The SUCC has petitioned the Kerala Governor Rajendra Arlekar, who serves as the Chancellor of Digital University Kerala (DUK), to cancel the meeting
| Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT
The Save University Campaign Committee (SUCC) has petitioned the Kerala Governor Rajendra Arlekar, who serves as the Chancellor of Digital University Kerala (DUK), to cancel the Board of Governors (BoG) meeting scheduled for May 29.In the petition submitted by SUCC chairperson R.S. Sasikumar, it is alleged that meeting is “prima facie illegal and without lawful authority” since the statutory tenure of the Chairman of the BoG, Prof. Vijay Chandru, has purportedly expired under the university’s governing law.The law, he claims, stipulates that the chairperson can only hold office for a period of three years, with a maximum grace period of three months unless formally reappointed. SUCC points out that Prof. Chandru was appointed in 2021, and adds that no legally valid reappointment or extension has been issued since.“Permitting the present Chairman to continue presiding over Board meetings and allowing the Board to take major academic, financial, administrative, and service-related decisions would expose the University to extremely serious legal consequences,” the complaint states.The organisation also raises alarm over a specific agenda item, which concerns the placement of certain contract assistant professors. These individuals, it is alleged, had been originally hired on temporary, fixed-tenure contracts of five years on consolidated pay, rather than through standard, permanent recruitment channels. Published - May 27, 2026 09:12 pm IST
