TISS Head to be Picked by Govt Now, Not Tata Trusts-led Board; Check Details Here

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As per the latest reports, the head of the premier Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and other deemed-to-be universities in the country will henceforth be appointed by the central government and not by their governing boards.

TISS

New Delhi: The government-appointed vice-chancellor will preside over an executive council in place of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' Governing Board due to changes in UGC regulations. As per reports, the head of the premier Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and other deemed-to-be universities in the country will henceforth be appointed by the central government and not by their governing boards.

The TISS director was chosen by a committee assembled by the governing board, whose group also included a UGC nominee. The UGC's criteria would have an impact on five-to-sex institutions that are administered by sponsoring entities but get more than 50% of their funding from the government.

The other institutions are DEI Agra, Gujarat Vidyapith, Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women, and GKV Haridwar. Due to the management transition, concerns have been raised about the institutions' autonomy. UGC Chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar defended the changes, claiming that “The new rules for deemed-to-be institutions are consistent with those for central universities.

The government will have a vote in the nomination process whenever the government supports institutions with more than 50% funding. The adjustments were made to create consistency throughout the academic system”. “There is nothing to worry about,” he added. “Government-funded central universities actively foster autonomy.

Now that they will have the same level of autonomy as central universities, these deemed-to-be-universities will be compatible with them. According to the National Education Policy 2020, the institutions can continue operating with their current autonomy while also receiving further independence.

For them, it will be an improvement,” said the charman, adding that UGC will be just a facilitator. Jagadesh Kumar said, “the regulations also adjust these deemed-to-be-institutions' governing structures to conform to those of the central universities.

These universities would instead have an executive council and academic council in place of the governing board.” According to a Tata Trusts source, the Trusts would implement the TISS changes that were suggested. TISS was established in 1936 by the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), yet over time the government has come to be the institute's primary patron.

The TISS governing board now contains three nominations from SDTT, Vijay Singh, Rukshana Savaksha, and Amrita Patwardhan, with Singh serving as the board's chairman. Both the state and the federal governments have nominations. The search-cum-selection committee established and the UGC's guidelines are used to appoint the director (equivalent to a vice chancellor).

According to a TISS representative, the institute is deemed to be a university under Section III and 12(b) of the UGC Act, is therefore centrally funded, and complies fully with all UGC and central government regulations. It will continue to do so under the new deemed-to-be-university regulations.

Congress Leader Jaram Ramesh responded to the news by tweeting, "Although over time, the Government of India has become the primary source of funding for TISS, successive governments have ensured its autonomy by allowing the Tata Trusts to nominate the chairman, the Governing Board, and allowing the Board to select the director. Both the chairman and the director will now be chosen by the government. In the realm of social sciences in particular, we are aware of what that signifies".

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