India, Jan. 31 -- In its latest draft of guidelines on the appointment of assistant professors in universities/colleges, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has come up with some 'revolutionary' ideas with regard to the relaxation in the conditions of the appointment of vice-chancellors. These guidelines have created quite a flutter, even anxiety, in the academic circles. There are questions whether the UGC has the mandate or the legal authority to make such sweeping changes.

For all practical purposes, the vice-chancellor (V-C) is supposed to be the first academic among equals, someone who is expected to uphold the highest traditions and standards of knowledge creation and dissemination within an academic community he/she presides ov...