Thiruvananthapuram, June 29: Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, as Chancellor of the universities in Kerala, has announced the formation of search committees for the selection of Vice Chancellors in six prominent state universities. The decision, aimed at ensuring a transparent and merit-based selection process, was disclosed in a notification issued by the Kerala Raj Bhavan last night.

The universities involved in this process are Kerala University, Mahatma Gandhi University (MGU), Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS), APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU), Kerala Agricultural University (KAU), and Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University. ISRO Chairman S. Somanath will serve as the Convener of the Committee for Kerala University. He will be joined by Prof Battu Satyanarayana, Vice Chancellor of Central University of Karnataka, and a nominee of the UGC and the Chancellor, who is yet to be announced. Arif Mohammed Khan Speech Cut Short: Kerala Governor Reads Last Paragraph While Addressing Beginning of Assembly Budget Session (Watch Video).

For Mahatma Gandhi University, the search committee members are Dr. K.R.S. Sambasiva Rao, former Vice Chancellor of Mizoram University, and Anandharamakrishnan, Director at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram.

The search committee for Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies includes Prof. (Dr) Sanjeev Jain, Vice Chancellor of Central University of Jammu, Dr. P.K. Abdul Azis, former Vice Chancellor of Cochin University of Science and Technology and Aligarh Muslim University, and Dr. J.K. Jena, Deputy Director General (Py Science), ICAR, Pusa, New Delhi. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan Angry With Police, Stages Sit-In Protest on Road After SFI Holds Black Flag Protest Against Him (Watch Videos).

APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University's search committee comprises Prof. Kshiti Bhushan Das, Vice Chancellor of Central University of Jharkhand, Prof. (Dr) P. Rajendran, former Vice Chancellor of Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur, and Dr. S. Unnikrishnan Nair, Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram.

For Kerala Agricultural University, the committee members are Dr. C.V. Jayamani, former Professor at Cochin University of Science and Technology, Prof. Alok Kumar Rai, Vice Chancellor of University of Lucknow, and Dr. Himanshu Pathak, Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education and Director-General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.

The search committee for Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University includes Dr. Jancy James, former Vice Chancellor of Central University of Kerala and Mahatma Gandhi University, and Prof. Battu Satyanarayana, Vice Chancellor of Central University of Karnataka. The positions of Vice Chancellors in these universities became vacant following the Supreme Court's annulment of the appointment of M S Rajasree as the Vice Chancellor of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University.