Odisha Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati on Monday appointed vice-chancellors of 14 government universities across the state after the Biju Janata Dal highlighted long-standing vacancies in the universities.
According to a statement issued by the Governor’s Lok Bhavan, who is also the Chancellor of State Universities, Vice Chancellors of Utkal University, Ravenshaw University, Fakir Mohan University, Dharanidhar University, Gangadhar Meher University, Khallikot Union University, MA Manikeswari University, Madhusudan Law University, Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University, Rajendra University, Rama Devi Women’s University, Shri have been appointed. Jagannath Sanskrit University, Vikram Dev University, and Odia University.
These universities did not have regular V-Cs for periods ranging from 1 to 3 years.
The recruitment process for selecting V-Cs certainly began in June 2025, after the passage of the Odisha University (Amendment) Act, 2024, which addressed procedural ambiguity.
Applications were called for 13 universities operating without regular heads, attracting nearly 350 applications from academics across the country.
The appointments come amid ongoing staff shortages at public universities, with 2,117 faculty positions and 2,500 non-teaching positions remaining vacant. Some universities were operating under temporary arrangements, with senior professors acting as deputy administrators or existing VCs continuing on short-term extensions.
The youth and student wings of the BJP threatened to launch street protests across the state earlier in the day if vacant posts in universities are not filled by the end of April.
Biju Yuva Janata Dal chief Chinmay Sahu and Biju Chhatra Janata Dal chief Ipsita Sahu said there was a “virtual paralysis” in the higher education department.
Sahu said VC appointments were earlier routed through the state Public Service Commission and were usually completed months before the outgoing office bearers retired. He claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government had stopped this system.
