I carry the academic sword and I’m proud of it: BU VC

By Rithu Dravid | NT

How do you rate your stint as the vice-chancellor of Bangalore University?
It has been challenging indeed. I have gone through different situations, some filled with contentment, some with joy and some with a pinch of disappointment. I faced a lot of discrimination as I belong to a backward community, but I could win all battles on my merit. I believe in never giving up even if there is only one percent of chance of winning. I became the vice-chancellor by merit. I carry the academic sword with me and I am proud of it. All communities have supported me to come up to this level. I have immense gratitude to former Governor Vajubhai Vala and former chief ministers, B S Yediyurappa and H D Kumaraswamy, for supporting me. Former Bangalore University Vice-Chancellor, Dr N R Shetty, nurtured me like his own son. Former Deputy Chief Minister and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee Chairman G Parmeshwara helped me. Professor Venkatagiri Gowda, my PhD guide, stood by me.

What are the changes you brought about at BU?
I have contributed a lot to Bangalore University. I could oversee the building of eight hostels, introduction of 40 new courses, such as graphics and animation, public relations, new media, film making, criminology, forensic science, solid waste management, disaster management and data science. We started a course in yogic sciences which will generate 12 lakh employment. During my tenure, Bangalore University became the first university in the country to implement the National Education Policy (NEP).

What were the challenges you faced at Bangalore University?
Coping up with the pandemic was the biggest challenge. During the pandemic, education turned into online mode. The UGC has incorporated 40% online education in the syllabus. But we have made every teacher switch from the offline to the online mode.

Your appointment created a lot of legal issues. What do you think about them?
The State government and the then governor’s office took a collective decision to appoint me as the vice-chancellor in 2018. The court said there was no concurrence.

The governor had appointed me and the government approved it without any dissent. The court said one has to take permission first and then appoint, which is not correct. The governor has the power to appoint and concurrence can be obtained later. It is a process of consultation. The government sent a file which was in concurrence with the three names for the post and the governor picked me and sent it back to the government.

My name has been proposed twice by the search committee. It is a trivial issue and not my fault. It is the governor and the government who has to look into it and sort it out. It is like a ratification by the government. Ratification is also a concurrence. That is why the Supreme Court has issued a stay order. (Venugopal was appointed the vice-chancellor of Bangalore University on June 12, 2018. A single bench had quashed the appointment on September 24, 2019 holding that the Chancellor’s decision to appoint him was contrary to Section 14(4) of the Karnataka State Universities Act, 2002, because the Chancellor had not taken concurrence of the State government” for his appointment. A Division Bench upheld the order on March 17. On April 4, the Supreme Court stayed the High Court order. This resulted in his return to Bangalore University.)

Do you think that you achieved your academic goals?
With 1,000 papers, 72 voluminous books and 35 patents to my credit I have achieved my academic goals. I have got a royalty of Rs 2 crores from these books which I have donated to charitable and educational institutions. I have spent my entire salary on students.

How did you cope with the stress and bring about a work life balance?
Yoga and meditation help me cope up with the stress. I am honest, my needs are very limited and I lead a simple life.