Mumbai University to get a new vice chancellor today

Mumbai University MU will finally get a fulltime vicechancellor VC today It has been a long wait of almost eight months since the previous VC Dr Sanjay Deshmukh was sacked in the wake of the results fiasco The new VC will inherit the same faulty On Screen Marking OSM system that delayed results for months midday takes a look at some of the top contenders for the job including a controversial name or twoToday Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao in his capacity as chancellor for all staterun universities will hold the final round of interviews with shortlisted candidates following which the vicechancellor of MU will be declaredA threemember search committee headed by renowned scientist K Kasturirangan has submitted a shortlist of five candidates to the governor The nominated candidates who did not make it to the shortlist are still in the running however and they are expected to get a shot in the last round of interactions with the governorOne thing is for sure whoever bags the job will have to hit the ground running As MU nears the end of the examination season the biggest challenge that lies before the new VC will be declaring results on timeThe official will also have the unenviable task of dealing with the On Screen Marking OSM system which resulted in a long delay in results as well as wrong scores being given to hundreds of students This VC will have no time to breathe after taking the position as the evaluation process will begin immediately Moreover there is no fulltime Controller of Examination at MU And OSM will be used this time too despite the flak it received last year said an official from the varsityThe governors office has kept the names of all nominated and shortlisted candidates confidential But according to sources Nagpur Universitys Dr Pramod Yeole Ramnarayan Ruia Colleges principal Dr Suhas Pednekar Dr Anil Karnik from Garvare Institute of Career Education and Development and the controversial Dr Vilas Sapkal from Amravati University are among the shortlisted candidatesControversial figureName Dr Vilas SapkalCurrent position Head of Chemical Technology department Amravati UniversityBackground Previously Dr Vilas Sapkal was the VC at Nagpur University During his tenure there 201114 he courted controversy due to alleged irregularities in staff appointments Dr Sunil Mishra director of the Central India Institute of Mass Communication at Nagpur University who had earlier complained against Dr Sapkal has once again written to the Governor regarding the same issue said sources Dr Sapkal refused to comment on the issueStrong candidate thanks to experienceName Dr Pramod YeoleCurrent position VC Nagpur UniversityBackground Dr Pramod Yeole is one of the stronger candidates in the race thanks to his experience He is known for streamlining the examination and evaluation system at Nagpur University Considering a similar need at Mumbai University there is a positive wave regarding Yeole said an officer from MantralayaFamiliar with On Screen Marking systemName Dr Suhas PednekarCurrent position Principal Ramnarayan Ruia College MatungaBackground As the principal of a popular city college Dr Suhas Pednekar is another candidate who is touted as a strong contestant Ruia College was recently granted autonomy under his leadership Being a senior principal of a college affiliated to MU he is expected to already have knowledge and experience of the challenges that MU is facing with regard to the evaluation system expressed a senior official from the varsityPopular choiceNameDr Anil KarnikCurrent position Chairman and managing director Garware Institute of Career Education and Development at MUBackground Dr Anil Karnik is a name from the MU campus that is being repeatedly spoken about in the race for the VCs job A varsity official said He has been associated with MU but is not completely familiar with the OSM process and other evaluation challenges as the institute headed by him runs independently But his is the name spoken by many in the varsity circle