Rajasthan Assembly passes bill on change in nomenclature of VC, pro VC in universities

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill was passed in the Rajasthan Assembly by voice vote following a debate on Thursday. Discussing the Bill in the House, Higher Education Minister Prem Chand Bairwa said that the vice-chancellor is the principal executive and academic officer in the state-funded universities of Rajasthan. He said that considering the existence of the 'Guru-Shishya Parampara' in India since ancient times, the state government has decided to change the nomenclature of vice-chancellor and pro-vice-chancellor in the Hindi version of such universities.

According to the provisions of this Bill, the designation of the vice chancellor in all the 32 government-aided universities of the state will now be 'kulguru' and the name of the pro vice chancellor will be 'pratikulguru'. This change will be applicable only in Hindi language, the designations in English will remain the same.

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During the debate on the Bill, Leader of Opposition Tika Ram Jully said that out of the 32 universities in the state, only four VCs are from Rajasthan, most of the VCs are from Uttar Pradesh. Independent MLA Ravindra Singh Bhati made allegations of corruption in appointment of vice chancellors. Jully alleged that in many universities, professors are not even getting their salaries and several posts are lying vacant. He said that just changing the name will not make any difference, unless the values of Sanatan Dharma and Vedic culture are not brought in. Following the debate, the House passed the Bill by voice vote.