After a year and a half, IKGPTU continues to operate without a permanent vice-chancellor, as the Punjab government has yet to appoint a replacement. Despite this setback, the university remains committed to delivering quality education and empowering its students.
Since August 2021, IKGPTU has been without a permanent vice-chancellor as former V-C, Professor Ajay Kumar Sharma’s tenure came to an end. In the interim, five different IAS officers who held the position of Secretary Technical Education served as officiating V-C of the university, which was established in 1997.
However, for the past three months, the university has been without an officiating V-C, as the Punjab Governor, Banwarilal Purohit, who is also the varsity chancellor, objected to the appointment of Secretary Technical Education to the position. The governor directed the state government to appoint the senior most dean or professor as officiating V-C until a permanent V-C is appointed. However, there is currently a conflict of interest within the varsity administration as there is no clear hierarchy to identify the most senior dean or professor for the role.
According to officials, the dean (academics) post is considered the highest in seniority after the vice-chancellor in other public universities. However, at IKGPTU, the post is held on a rotational basis for three years, leading to a dispute over seniority. To ensure the university runs efficiently, three committees were formed in a temporary arrangement to manage the financial, administrative, and academic aspects of the university.
Previously, during Captain Amarinder Singh’s tenure as Chief Minister, the name of Professor Siby John, a senior professor at Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, was almost finalized for the vice-chancellor position. However, the process was set aside in October 2021. After coming to power, the ruling AAP government advertised the post for vice-chancellor selection on August 18, 2022, but the process was again cancelled due to objections raised by the selection committee.
The government issued another advertisement on December 16, 2022, for the selection of a vice-chancellor, and the process is currently underway. However, Seema Jain, the Additional Chief Secretary (Technical Education), could not be reached for comment. Meanwhile, DPS Kharbanda, the Director of Technical Education, stated that a selection committee headed by the Punjab Chief Secretary has already been formed for the vice-chancellor selection process. He added that the process is ongoing and will take some time.
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