It has been over a year since the Telugu Desam Party-led coalition government, headed by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, came to power in Andhra Pradesh. Yet, the government has not prioritised improvements in higher education.
According to a report published in a pro-TDP newspaper on Saturday, nine universities in the state have been functioning under interim leadership for over a year.
This follows the resignation of vice-chancellors appointed during the Jagan Mohan Reddy administration, who stepped down after the change in government.
The government took time to issue fresh notifications for appointments.
On September 9 last year, it announced openings for vice-chancellor positions in 17 universities, receiving nearly 2,500 applications.
It was also announced that the government would appoint professors from national-level institutions as vice-chancellors.
On February 18 this year, VCs were appointed for nine universities, including Andhra University, JNTU Kakinada, Yogi Vemana University, Vikrama Simhapuri, Rayalaseema, JNTU Anantapur, Padmavati Women’s University, Krishna University, and Adikavi Nannaya University.
However, Phanithi Prakash Babu — appointed as Vice-Chancellor of Yogi Vemana University from the University of Hyderabad — resigned after receiving a better opportunity. As a result, VC positions in nine universities remain vacant.
These include Acharya Nagarjuna University, Sri Krishnadevaraya University, JNTU Vizianagaram, Dravidian University in Kuppam, Urdu University, YSR Architecture University, Andhra Kesari University, Sri Venkateswara University, and once again, Yogi Vemana University.
Concerns have been raised over the absence of regular vice-chancellors, particularly in key institutions like Nagarjuna, SVU, and Sri Krishnadevaraya, with critics warning of growing administrative inefficiencies.
Recently, the government formed search committees for four universities — Sri Krishnadevaraya, JNTU Vizianagaram, Acharya Nagarjuna, and Dravidian University — with members nominated by the UGC.
Although these committees have submitted their recommendations, no decisions have yet been made.
The report emphasized that having a regular vice-chancellor is essential for the Executive Council to make policy decisions.
Without one, the Council can only manage routine matters. Major institutional reforms require Executive Council approval under the leadership of a full-time vice-chancellor.
