Thiruvananthapuram: Face-off between the Governor and the state government escalated to a new level as Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has issued orders reappointing Dr Mohanan Kunnummal as Vice-Chancellor of Kerala University of Health Sciences (KUHS). Kunnummal’s re-appointment is seen as a challenge for the LDF government, owing to his frequent run-ins with the CPM-dominated syndicate at Kerala University on various issues.
Dr Mohanan Kunnummal will also continue to hold the charge of Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kerala.
According to a notification issued by the Raj Bhavan on Thursday, Mohanan Kunnummal has been reappointed for five years with effect from Saturday (October 26), when his current term expires, or till he attains the age of 70 years, whichever is earlier.
The reappointment has been made as per Section 10(5) ii of the KUHS Act. In a separate notification, the Raj Bhavan said Kunnummal will continue to hold VC charge till a person is appointed regularly to the post.
The new move comes when the Kerala government is under pressure to appoint new vice chancellors (VCs) for four universities this week as tensions with the governor continue over selection procedure. The governor recently rejected the names proposed by the government for the positions at CUSAT and Calicut University and instead appointed senior professors as temporary Vice Chancellors
The government has termed Governor Arif Mohammed Khan’s decision to reappoint Dr Mohanan Kunnummal as ‘undemocratic’ and ‘unfortunate’. In a statement, Higher Education Minister R Bindu said the governor, who had once put her in the dock over the reappointment of a vice-chancellor, has now done the same as per his ‘whims and fancies’.
