Gujarat Hardlook: Thriving on a glorious past, Vadodara’s MS University goes through a tense present

Ten days after the convocation, the university, which had faced protests from student bodies for delaying the annual event “for want of a VIP guest”, saw itself without a head as Vice-Chancellor (V-C) V K Shrivastava resigned in the course of a hearing challenging his appointment before the Gujarat High Court (HC). The petitioner, Professor Satish Pathak of the Department of Education, contended that the appointment of Shrivastava to the post was “illegal” as he did not fulfil the University Grants’ Commission (UGC) criteria of 10 years of experience as a professor. Pathak had submitted before the HC that the reference letters had shown that three names were finalised by the search committee to appoint the V-C of MSU in 2022. “Despite the clear regulations in place, Shrivastava’s appointment as the V-C is a violation of the Regulations…”, his petition stated.

The HC is to decide if Shrivastava can cite his stint as V-C in his future jobs.

Apart from Venki Ramakrishnan, the university counts among its distinguished alumni philosopher Acharya Vinoba Bhave, also known as the National Teacher of India; philosopher, poet, educationalist and nationalist Sri Aurobindo; economist, jurist, social reformer and political leader Babasaheb Ambedkar; former RBI governor IG Patel; and activist, politician and writer Kanhaiyalal Munshi. It has also had Hansa Mehta, the wife of Gujarat’s first Chief Minister Jivraj Mehta and a member of the Constituent Assembly that drafted the Indian Constitution, as its V-C.
Professors and alumni now say that the university, founded in 1949 by Maharaja Sayajirao III —then as Baroda College — has seen a steady decline, which reflects in its fall in the national rankings, number of research scholars, and its quality of academics.

Vacancies have piled up. Not only more than half of the posts of teaching staff are lying vacant, the university has also not had a regular registrar since 2012 and seen almost no hiring for non-teaching staff since the early 1990s, say sources.

Former MSU V-C and Member of the House of Lords since 2000, Padma Bhushan Bhikhu Parekh holds government interference in the education system responsible for India not producing a state university of the calibre of that of Oxford or Cambridge. Parekh told The Indian Express: “The government needs to give freedom to universities to function. It is only then that MSU will be able to rise from where it stands. In fact, in several decades, India is yet to produce a university, which matches Oxford or Cambridge. Another reason is that teachers…are not self-motivated to do better. And the institution needs a leader who is not burdened by the pressure of the governments.”

Rankings and grades

In the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2024, MSU slipped to the rank band of 151-200 from 100-150 in 2022-23 — and a steady decline from 76 in 2016, which saw its best since the rankings were introduced by the Ministry of Education. From 2017 to 2020, the rank remained in the band of 151-200. For two years from 2022, it stayed in the rank band of 101-150. In 2021, it had found itself at 90, in view of the preparations for the upcoming National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) assessment in 2022. “Among the most important criteria for NIRF ranking is teaching and learning resources as well as research and professional practices, with both parameters having an equal weightage of 30%. Thereafter, the considerations are the results and placements (20%) diversity on campus (10% ), and the reputation of the institution (10%). So, the main parameters are qualified faculty members and their appropriate ratio to students, along with research and publications by the university,” says a teacher, who is a member of the Faculty of Science at the varsity.

Interestingly, MSU bagged the ‘A+’ grade with 3.43 CGPA from the NAAC in 2022, improving from its Grade-A status of 2016. However, the NAAC peer team had also remarked that the university’s poor teacher-student ratio come in the way of its score.

A teacher from the Faculty of Arts says that the university has lost out on grants due to falling NIRF rankings, leading to “stagnancy” in academic projects and course offerings. He says, “Except for two years, MSU has not been in the top 100 in NIRF and thus, lost out on many grants. It is also one of the reasons behind MSU’s missing out on the possibility of offering online courses … It is not just the university, which is losing out, but also its professors as several national universities only appoint examiners for PhD from universities in the top 100. Since the NIRF rankings have seen a dip, many professors, previously invited as PhD examiners to prestigious institutions in India, have not got any opportunities.”

A senior professor, who has held an office in the university in the past, says, One has to look at the decline in two parts — a steady decline due to organisational governance challenges, which have caused demoralisation among teachers and attrition, and the last two-and-a-half years of controversy surrounding the appointment of V-C Shrivastava … the person in charge did nothing to empower teachers or introduce new courses, and also disregarded rules.” Shrivastava could not be contacted for comment.

Recruitment & promotions

As against the stipulated permanent teaching posts of 1,200, the university has 425 professors, associate professors and assistant professors, with almost no hiring since 2014.

Although the state government had approved recruitment in 2018-19, a controversy and an accusation against the management of the university had stalled the process, and an inquiry had followed. In September 2021, 27 posts were filled, but suspended again due to allegations of irregularities in the recruitment process, with the then V-C (Parimal Vyas) accused of favouritism.

A member of the Faculty of Arts says that mostly positions in the commerce faculty were filled and by the time others began, the UGC rules had changed and the earlier recruitment ads became null and void. Another faculty member adds that permanent faculty posts, which remain vacant for more than five years without any attempt made to recruit, are termed as ‘lapsed’, necessitating the university to seek clearance from the state Finance and Education

Department to re-issue advertisements.

The university, therefore, has been heavily relying on temporary assistant professors (TAPs) to conduct its business that senior professors say is “affecting the quality” of education on campus and “driving away bright students” to new private universities, which have come up in the periphery of Vadodara. A senior professor says, “TAPs have limitations because they are overburdened despite being talented. Since they are hired only on 11-month contracts, they have no sense of belonging and look for better opportunities.”

A member from the Faculty of Commerce says, “MSU is still popular, but it is not getting the best students or the quality of TAPs on which the university can rely. They have also not been given the respect they deserve. In 2024, TAPs were denied Diwali vacation and made to double as clerks.”

Professor Pathak also draws attention to the “lack of staff” at the Maharaja Ranjitsinh Gaekwad Institute of Design (MRID), saying: “It is one of the renowned institutes under the Faculty of Fine Arts, but no regular teachers are appointed. The courses it offers are not available even in other private universities, but it is sustaining with TAPs … Former V-C Vyas (before Shrivastava), had introduced a five-year contract for TAPs in order to give them a job security that offered them a monthly salary of Rs 50,000…This had replaced the system of hiring ad hoc teachers with a salary band of Rs 43,000. The Higher Payment Programmes had begun to improve the situation, but the initiative was discontinued in 2022-23 and the TAPs returned to being ad hoc teachers.”

A senior professor at MSU, meanwhile, says that there has been no hiring of permanent Class-3 and Class-4 non-teaching staff since the early 1990s. “This is because of a government outsourcing policy, under which Class-4 staff are hired through agencies instead of direct recruitment. They mostly work on daily wages and we cannot expect them to stay on…”

In fact, the University also does not have permanent Class 1 and Class 2 officers. “Positions of the Comptroller of exam, Deputy Registrar are vacant. The University has not had a regular Registrar since 2012. The charge of posts of key officers is handed out to Professors and Deans of Faculties, overburdening them,” says the senior Professor.

Research

As per MSU’s last available Annual Report of 2021-22, the number of sanctioned projects undertaken by it witnessed a steady decline from 44 in 2017-18 to 25 in 2020-21. In the NAAC assessment period of 2021-22, the sanctioned grant for projects was the highest in five years at Rs 25.02 crore, but the number of projects stood at 42.
A member of the Faculty of Arts says, “Only permanent and regular teachers can become PhD guides … Recruitment of about 775 teachers is pending, but no promotions have happened since 2019. The number of PhD scholars has gone down drastically … At least 50 associate professors are eligible to become professors, but interviews have not happened…”

According to Professor Pathak, there has been a delay in awarding degrees as clerical staff are not being able to process PhD certificates on time. “Thus PhD scholars are unable to apply for further opportunities. Gradually, candidates are shifting to private colleges. In fact, the number of guides has also reduced as professors, who are three years shy of retirement age, cannot guide PhD students, as per rules.”

Campus diversity

Controversies over ideological battles have also taken the sheen off the once-dynamic campus, known for its diversity. In May 2022, Kundan Kumar Mahato, a first-year student of Masters of Visual Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts (FFA), was “debarred permanently” from the university for “objectionable art works”, following protests from right-wing groups. A fact-finding committee was formed, which submitted its report the same month, and the MSU syndicate had then decided to debar him permanently.

This was the second incident after the 2007 case of Chandramohan’s “objectionable” artworks had led to vandalism.

In February 2023, stating that the FFA of MSU was known for its “open mind”, the Gujarat HC had quashed the university’s decision to debar Mahato.

In March 2023, members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) staged a protest at an event organised by the Faculty of Social Work that had Jamia Millia Islamia professor Zubair Meenai as one of the speakers. “It is true that the MSU campus, once known for the platform it offered speakers, has now turned into a place where quality seminars cannot be held … Deans are issued show-cause notices if seminars have panellists who speak critically…It has caused a decline in the cosmopolitan culture MSU once stood for,” a senior professor states.

“Fewer foreign students from very few countries are coming in as the reputation of the university has corroded … Private universities have commission agents in various countries and even though they may not have the legacy or reputation of MSU, they are getting more foreign students,” says Pathak.

Infrastructure

Faculty members lament that buildings on the sprawling 274.81-acre campus are in need for repairs. A member of the Faculty of Arts says, “No major construction has taken place in the university … big buildings are in need for repairs, but there are no funds. The quality of the canteen and hostel has declined. The washrooms for women are either unavailable or reeking. While students have increased more than 15-20-fold, in the last 75 years, the government has not allotted land for new infrastructure or departments” The Faculty of Art’s iconic Robert Chisholm-designed dome is third-largest masonry dome in Asia, built in an Indo-Saracenic style.

What next?

In a letter to in-charge V-C Dhanesh Patel on January 16, the Akhil Bharatiya Rashtriya Shaikshik Mahasangh (ABRSM)-MSU, a teachers’ union, demanded reversal or review of decisions taken by Shrivastava during his term. Signed by ABRSM-MSU President Professor Amit Dholakia, who is also the former Officiating Registrar of the university, and ABRSM-MSU Secretary Chetan Somani, the memorandum stated, “Vijay Kumar Shrivastava’s resignation as Vice-Chancellor, before the delivery of the judgment of the Gujarat High Court regarding his ineligibility and qualifications for the post of the Vice-Chancellor — ipso facto implies that he was not qualified for the position in our University. Therefore, we recommend that all major decisions and appointments on statutory and other positions made by him as V-C be reviewed or reversed, where required, as per norms.”

The memorandum urges the university to follow the UGC guidelines for promotions that require scrutiny of application and fulfilment of the required criteria.

Dholakia feels that “empowered leadership” can help reverse the deterioration at MSU. He tells The Indian Express, “MSU has a lot of potential… support from the government and appointment of permanent teachers and administration staff as well as empowered and effective leadership can steer the university in the right direction.”

Fresh changes

On January 31, the MSU Board of Management (BoM) decided to revert to the five-year contractual system for selected teaching staff that had been discontinued since Shrivastava’s appointment in 2022. A member tells this newspaper, “The BoM resolved that in the upcoming academic year, advertisements will be issued to recruit teachers under Contractual Education Services (CES) for a period of five years with a pay bracket of Rs 50,000-60,000 that had been introduced by V-C Vyas earlier, and suspended in 2022 when Shrivastava took over. It would attract teachers to the institute and help streamline the process.”

The member adds, “It has also been resolved to work on the Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) for those professors and teaching staff, who have been denied promotions for the last two years.”

Given the turn of events in the tenure of the last V-C, hopes are pinned on the new V-C, to be appointed on February 10 by a search committee set up by the Gujarat government.

caption: (Top) The iconic buildings of the campus are in dire need of upkeep; (above) a student clicks a selfie during the convocation in December. Bhupendra Rana