Ahmedabad: Concerns have emerged over delays in starting the process to appoint a new vice-chancellor at Gujarat Technological University, one of the state’s largest universities. The current VC’s term is due to end in Aug and the mandatory search committee has yet to be formed.Under established norms, the search committee is usually constituted four to six months before the end of a vice-chancellor’s tenure to allow enough time to identify and appoint a successor. With around five months remaining, no official steps have been taken, raising concerns among education experts. Academicians said similar delays have occurred in the past. During the tenure of former VC Dr Akshai Agrawal, the search committee was formed late, resulting in a nearly six-month vacancy before a new vice-chancellor was appointed.Experts warned that GTU could face a similar situation again if the process is not initiated soon. Sources said that even if the procedure begins now, it could still take two to three months to complete key stages such as forming the committee, appointing its members, issuing a nationwide advertisement and scrutinising applications. This has raised doubts about whether a new vice-chancellor can be appointed before the current term ends. At the same time, discussions are underway over the possibility of granting the current VC a second term, sources said. However, some university insiders have raised concerns over the effectiveness of the present leadership and questioned whether an extension would be appropriate.
