Hisar, March 7
Under a new dispensation the Haryana Government has ruled that if you do not hold a Ph.D degree you cannot be appointed Principal of a lowly-aided private college in Haryana but you can become Vice-Chancellor or Registrar of one of the four universities in the state without such a degree.

Having appointed three non-Ph.Ds as Vice-Chancellors, the Haryana Government has now directed that the candidates for the post of principal of private-aided colleges should hold a doctoral degree even while it continues to appoint principals of government colleges by promotion from amongst lecturers without making a doctoral degree an essential qualification.

Strangely enough, it has issued these directions despite the fact that the qualifications for the candidates for the posts of lecturer and principal of colleges are prescribed by the university to which the college concerned is affiliated and not the state government. Nevertheless, the government issued a notification on November 2 last year which prescribed the following as essential qualifications for the post of principal: Master’s degree with at least 55 per cent marks or its equivalent grade B in the seven point scale, Ph. D or equivalent published work and total teaching/research experience of 15 years in a university, college or other institution of higher education.

The University Grants Commission had prescribed these qualifications at the time of revising the teacher’s pay scales some years ago. However, it waived certain conditions (including that of Ph.D degree) for candidates from amongst the existing incumbents vide its notification No. F3-2/99(P.S.) dated June 23, 1999.

Earlier, the UGC through another notification No. F-3-1/94 (P.S.) dated December 24, 1998, had stated that “any relaxation in the prescribed qualifications can only be made by a university in regard to the posts under it or any of the institutions, including constituent or affiliated colleges, recognised under clause (f) of Section 2 of the UGC Act 1956”. This made it clear that the state governments concerned could not prescribe the qualifications for such posts. Besides, none of the two affiliating universities of Haryana have so far prescribed Ph.D as essential qualification for the appointment of principals of colleges under them.

However, regardless of its legal incompetence to prescribe such qualifications, the government has changed the essential qualifications only in respect of private-aided colleges and not for its own colleges whose principals continue to be appointed by seniority regardless of their qualifications.