Prof. (Dr.) Faizan Mustafa was serving as the Vice-Chancellor at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad since April 2012. Since he has completed two terms in office, he was recently directed to re-join his parent institution, namely the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) on August 1, 2022. As a result of this, Prof. (Dr.) V. Balakista Reddy, the Registrar, has been given charge as the...
Prof. (Dr.) Faizan Mustafa was serving as the Vice-Chancellor at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad since April 2012. Since he has completed two terms in office, he was recently directed to re-join his parent institution, namely the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) on August 1, 2022. As a result of this, Prof. (Dr.) V. Balakista Reddy, the Registrar, has been given charge as the interim Vice-Chancellor for now. The position of the Vice-Chancellor had been advertised on April 12, 2022 and applications had been received till May 12, 2022. The Selection Committee constituted under Section 17 of the NALSAR Act, 1998 had recently interviewed the applicants and the shortlisted names have been submitted to the Hon'ble Chief Justice of the High Court of Telangana, who as the Chancellor of NALSAR has to make the final decision in this matter. It must also be noted that Section 17 of the NALSAR Act, 1998 allows the incumbent Vice-Chancellor to be re-appointed for multiple terms.
Even as we await this important decision by our Chancellor, we came across a related issue in the regional newspapers. One member of our research staff had published an opinion piece arguing that the next Vice-Chancellor should be a person who has roots in Telangana. This opinion piece further went on to endorse a particular applicant's credentials for this position. While the said member of our research staff has the full liberty to express his views, as current students at NALSAR, we firmly believe that academic appointments at our institution should not be narrowly based on nativist sentiments.
Even though NALSAR University of Law was created in 1998 by a legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly of the undivided State of Andhra Pradesh, the contents of the statute make it clear that NALSAR is supposed to have a national character, especially when it comes to the composition of its faculty and students. Even though residence-based quotas were subsequently introduced for the admission of students, it is altogether another issue if the same argument is made for the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor and the respective faculty positions. NALSAR attracts a highly talented and motivated group of students every year, who secure admission through the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT). Students from all parts of India and abroad, aspire to gain admission to the full-time taught programmes at the institution. Likewise, it is important that faculty hiring efforts should also be directed at attracting and retaining the best teaching talent that is available in the country. This is why there are several sections in the NALSAR Act,1998 that were included to ensure that academic appointments at this University are made in an autonomous manner.
One of the concerns that has been raised by some stakeholders in the institution is that of the alleged under-representation of faculty members from the host state. This is simply not true. If one goes through the list of the 51 full-time faculty members who are presently employed by NALSAR (as on August 1, 2022), 12 are from Telangana and 8 are from Andhra Pradesh, constituting nearly 40% of the total strength. To then mount an argument for the appointment of the next Vice-Chancellor to be based on territorial ties is wholly misguided and short-sighted. In fact, any academic appointment made purely on the basis of such sentiments will undermine the efforts to develop and preserve the national character of the institution.
The growth of the National Law Universities as a cluster and several privately-funded institutions in recent years has created a competitive environment among Indian law schools. This provides an impetus to these institutions to strive for excellence in their teaching, research and extension activities. Given the importance of these relatively autonomous law schools and their impact on the future of the legal profession, the selection of a Vice-Chancellor must be based on the applicant's academic competence, administrative experience and an actionable vision for the future of the institution. In this context, coming across assertions that such appointments should be based only on the basis of territorial ties, is deeply disheartening and is also a direct negation of the core ideals upon which the National Law Universities (NLUs) have been founded. As students who have come to NALSAR from other States, we had never directly experienced any divisions based on regional ties. In fact, we are encouraged to embrace diversity in all its forms so as to shape an inclusive academic and social environment.
Preserving the 'National' character of the NLUs has never been more relevant. Speaking specifically about the NALSAR University of Law, it is located in Hyderabad - a city whose rapid growth over the last two decades has been modelled on attracting global talent and establishing a cosmopolitan environment that aspires to international standards. The higher education institutes of the city have also moved in this direction, and most of them appeal to not just national but global talent. In fact, our Hon'ble Chief Minister Shri K. Chandrashekhar Rao, who bravely led the movement for a separate State of Telangana, has on numerous occassions highlighted the need for attracting the best human capital. NALSAR has received generous financial support from the State Government in recent years so as to expand its physical infrastructure. As students, we are deeply appreciative of this support, but we also hope that NALSAR will continue to be a competitive academic institution in the future.
Views are personal
[Aniket Chauhaan, Arjun Nayyar, Jai Agarwal, Sanskar Jain are Students of IV year, B.A.,LL.B. (Hons.) - NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad)