Pro Vice-Chancellor’s Appointment in Calicut University Kicks up a Row
14 July 2026 | The Hindu
The recent appointment of Syndicate member P. Rasheed Ahammed as the pro Vice-Chancellor (V-C) of the University of Calicut (CU) has led to claims and counter-claims over its legal aspects.
Pro-Left Syndicate members such as M.B. Faisal, K. Mohammed Haneefa, and T. Mohammed Saleem say that Mr. Ahammed’s nomination was introduced as an out-of-agenda item at the Syndicate meeting held on July 9. They claim that it is a “blatant violation” of the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) Regulations, 2010, under which the holder of the office of pro Vice-Chancellor must be a university professor. They point out that the UGC Regulations, 2018, did not alter this qualification. Despite this legal position, Mr. Ahammed, who is not a Professor in a university department, but a teacher holding the designation in an affiliated college, has been nominated solely on political considerations. Mr. Ahammed is also a functionary of the Indian Union Muslim League-affiliated Confederation of Kerala College Teachers.