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Journalism of Courage
At least 17 of India’s 130 premier higher education institutions under the Union Ministry of Education, including central universities, IITs, IIMs, NITs and IISERs, are being run by Vice-Chancellors and directors who are either serving in an interim capacity or on extended tenures.
The Indian Express reviewed appointments to top posts at all the 48 Central Universities (CUs), 23 IITs, 21 IIMs, 31 NITs and seven IISERs under the Ministry — and found interim heads in eight CUs, three IIMs, two IITs, three NITs and one IISER. All of them carry the tag of Institutions of National Importance.
At least eight of these 17 institutions have been helmed by interim leaders for over a year: IIM Calcutta, IIM Shillong, NIT Srinagar, NIT Andhra Pradesh, IISER Thiruvananthapuram, IGNOU, Sikkim University and Rajiv Gandhi University in Arunachal Pradesh.
IITs, IIMs and NITs among 17 top central institutions being run by interim heads that the Government begins the search for a successor about six months before an incumbent’s term ends. Last month, a Parliamentary committee made strong observations on the Government not filling top posts in central universities.
In its report on the Department of Higher Education’s demand for grants 2025-26, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports noted: “The committee is deeply pained to know that as of December 2024, up to ten Central Universities are running without regular VCs… the Committee is deeply anguished by the failure to appoint leadership for these 10 higher education institutions and recommends that the Department (of higher education) should take necessary action in this regard expeditiously.”
Asked about the interim leadership status of these institutions under its watch, an Education Ministry spokesperson said new appointments are “under process”.
For appointments to CUs, IITs, IIMs, NITs and IISERs, the Centre holds final approval. For instance, at IIMs, each institute’s Board of Governors must get the approval of the President (Visitor) before appointing a Director.
The IIT Council, headed by the Education Minister, appoints IIT Directors after Presidential approval. Similarly, NIT and IISER Directors are appointed by the President based on selection committee recommendations.
For Central Universities established by Parliament, the President as Visitor appoints Vice-Chancellors from names recommended by selection committees.
Among the 23 IITs, Kharagpur and Hyderabad do not have regular directors. IIT Kharagpur has had a Director in-charge from late December 2024 onwards, while the term of the Director at IIT Hyderabad ended in August last year.
Of the 21 IIMs, three — Calcutta, Shillong and Kashipur — are without regular directors.
At IIM Calcutta, Saibal Chattopadhyay, a professor at the institute, was appointed Director in-charge by the Board of Governors in January 2024. Uttam Kumar Sarkar, who was appointed as Director in 2021, resigned in 2023 and was succeeded by Sahadeb Sarkar, who had a short stint of around two months, before Chattopadhyay was appointed.
The NITs in Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and Srinagar now have Directors in-charge who took over in the second half of 2024. For NIT Uttarakhand, this was the second Director in-charge to take over just in that year.
Among the Central Universities under the Ministry, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has had a particularly long stint without a regular VC. While Professor Nageshwar Rao’s tenure ended in 2023, he was given a year’s extension. Prof Uma Kanjilal was then appointed as acting VC in July 2024.
Rajiv Gandhi University in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim University are also in a similar situation.
Prof S K Nayak was appointed VC in-charge of Rajiv Gandhi University in October last year, and before him, Prof Saket Kushwaha held the post for six years with an extended tenure lasting a year. While Sikkim University has had an officiating VC from August 2024 onwards, the tenure of the previous VC, which ended in 2023, had been extended by a year.
