Chapter 4 AUTHORITIES OF THE UNIVERSITY

Authorities of the University.—The following shall be the authorities of the University, namely:—

1. (i) the General Council;
2. (ii) the Board of Governors;
3. (iii) the Senate;
4. (iv) the Finance Committee;
5. (v) the Academic Council;
6. (vi) the Research Council; and
7. (vii) such other bodies of the University as may be designated by the Statutes to be the authorities of the University.

The General Council.—

1. (1) The Government shall, by notification in the official gazette, constitute a General Council for the University to be headed by the Chancellor and such other members not exceeding twenty eight, and who shall be experts or officers of the Government. The terms and conditions of appointment of members of the General Council shall be as notified by the Government in the official gazette.
2. (2) The General Council shall have the following members, namely:—
   • (i) Chancellor—Chairperson;
   • (ii) Pro-Chancellor—Vice Chairperson;
   • (iii) Minister-in-charge of Higher Education Department, Government of Kerala—Member;
   • (iv) two members elected by the members of Legislative Assembly from among themselves—members;
   • (v) Chairperson of the Board of Governors —Member;
   • (vi) Vice- Chancellor—Member;
   • (vii) Vice-Chancellor, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Technological University, Kerala—Ex-officio Member;
   • (viii) One senior representative from University Grants Commission—Member;
   • (ix) Principal Secretary or Secretary to Government, Electronics and Information Technology Department—Ex-officio Member;
   • (x) Principal Secretary or Secretary to Government, Higher Education Department—Ex-officio Member;
   • (xi) Principal Secretary or Secretary to Government, Finance Department—Ex-officio Member;
   • (xii) one person nominated from the Higher Education Council, Government of Kerala—Ex-officio Member;
   • (xiii) Director, Indian Institute of Technology, Palakkad—Ex-officio Member;
   • (xiv) Director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode—Ex-officio Member;
   • (xv) Director, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram—Ex-officio Member;
   • (xvi) Director, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram—Ex-officio Member;
   • (xvii) Director, Sree Chithira Thirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology —Ex-officio Member; (xviii) Director, National Institute of Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram—Ex-officio Member;
   • (xix) six prominent persons nominated by the Government, three of them shall be persons of international repute in information technology or allied sectors or holding position at the level of Managing Director or above in industrial sector and one of them shall be a person belonging to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe and one shall be a woman and one shall be an entrepreneur—Members;
   • (xx) two faculty members nominated by the Vice-Chancellor—Members;
   • (xxi) two students nominated by the Vice-Chancellor—Members.
3. (3) The Registrar shall be the Secretary to the Council.
4. (4) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the General Council shall have the following powers and functions, namely:—
   • (i) to proactively identify the trends and directions and develop a strategic plan for the University; to plan and monitor the execution of such plan; to keep the vision and mission of the University relevant to the emerging trends and directions;
   • (ii) to formulate policies to execute the strategic plans;
   • (iii) to review, from time to time, the broad policies and programmes of the University and to suggest measures for the improvement and development of the University;
   • (iv) to consider and pass resolution on the annual report and the annual accounts of the University and also consider report of the auditor on such accounts;
   • (v) to advise the Chancellor in respect of any matter which may be referred to it for advice; and
   • (vi) to perform such other functions as may be prescribed.

Board of Governors.—

1. (1) The Board of Governors shall have the following members, namely:—
   • (i) an expert of international eminence with substantial experience in information technology industry, nominated by the Government—Chairperson;
   • (ii) Vice-Chancellor—Vice-Chairperson;
   • (iii) one member elected by the members of Legislative Assembly from among themselves—member;
   • (iv) Vice-Chancellor, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Technological University, Kerala—Ex-officio Member;
   • (v) Principal Secretary or Secretary to Government, Department of Electronics and Information Technology—Ex-officio Member;
   • (vi) Principal Secretary or Secretary to Government, Department of Finance—Ex-officio Member;
   • (vii) Principal Secretary or Secretary to Government, Department of Higher Education—Ex-officio Member ;
   • (viii) one person nominated from the Higher Education Council, Government of Kerala—Ex-officio Member;
   • (ix) one representative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India—Ex-officio Member;
   • (x) one representative of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India—Ex-officio Member;
   • (xi) Director, Indian Institute of Technology, Palakkad—Ex-officio Member;
   • (xii) Director, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram—Ex-officio Member;
   • (xiii) Director, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram—Ex-officio Member;
   • (xiv) Director, Sree Chithira Thirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology—Ex-officio Member;
   • (xv) Director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode—Ex-officio Member;
   • (xvi) Director, National Institute of Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram—Ex-officio Member;
   • (xvii) two persons from the panel of four experts submitted by the Vice-Chancellor with proven expertise in education, research or information technology and application and allied disciplines, two experts related to the said fields, nominated by the Chairperson—Members; (xviii) two professors of the University nominated by the Vice-Chancellor—Members;
   • (xix) one student nominated by the Vice-Chancellor—Member.
2. (2) Registrar shall be the Secretary of the Board of Governors.
3. (3) The first Board of Governors of the University shall be appointed by the Government, through Gazette notification.

Term of office and allowances payable to the members of the Board of Governors.—

1. (1) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, the term of office of the members of the Board of Governors shall be as follows, namely:—
   • (i) an ex-officio Member shall continue so long as he holds the office by virtue of which he is a member;
   • (ii) an expert member shall hold office for a period of three years from the date of his nomination. However, his term may be extended for a further period of two years;
   • (iii) the student member shall hold office for one year; and
   • (iv) the members nominated as per clause
   • (xvii) of sub-section
2. (1) of section 18 shall hold office for two years.
3. (2) The term of office of a member nominated to fill a casual vacancy shall be for the remainder of the term of the member in whose place he has been nominated.
4. (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, in case the members nominated by the Board of Governors as per sub-section
5. (1) of section 18, vacate the office, he shall continue as a member until another person is nominated as a member in his place or up to three months, whichever is earlier.
6. (4) The allowances that are entitled to the members of the Board of Governors shall be such as may be provided in the Statutes.

Powers and Functions of the Board of Governors.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Board of Governors shall be responsible for the general superintendence, direction and control of the affairs of the University and it shall exercise all the powers of the University not otherwise provided for by this Act, the Statutes or the Regulations, and it shall have the power to review the functions of the Senate.

1. (2) Without prejudice to the provisions in sub-section (1), the Board of Governors shall have the following powers, namely:—
   • (i) to take decisions on questions of policy relating to the administration and functions of the University;
   • (ii) to set up schools of study, to determine the courses of study and decide the admission criteria and to set up Independent Centres of Excellence;
   • (iii) to fix the fee for various courses;
   • (iv) to make, amend or repeal Statutes on its own motion or on the recommendation of the authorities of the University;
   • (v) to create academic as well as other posts in the University, make appointments and determine their terms and conditions of service;
   • (vi) to consider, modify or cancel Regulations;
   • (vii) to consider and pass annual report, annual accounts and the budget estimates of the University for the next financial year, together with a statement of its development plans as it thinks fit; and
   • (viii) to exercise such other powers and perform such other duties as may be conferred or imposed upon it by this Act or the Statutes.
2. (3) The Board of Governors shall have the power to appoint such committees as it considers necessary for the exercise of its powers and perform its duties under this Act.
3. (4) The Board of Governors shall meet at least once in three months.
4. (5) The quorum for a meeting of the Board of Governors shall be one third of the total members.

The Senate.—(1) The Senate shall be the principal academic body of the University and subject to the provisions of this Act, the Statutes and the Regulations, it shall,—

1. (i) be responsible for interacting with the Board of Governors through the Vice-Chancellor for formulation of academic policies and programmes to materialise the strategic plan of the University;
2. (ii) control the maintenance of standards of instruction, education and examination within the University; and
3. (iii) exercise such other powers and perform such other duties as may be conferred or imposed upon it by the Statutes.

1. (2) The constitution of the Senate and the term of office of its members shall be as prescribed in the Statutes.
2. (3) The Senate shall have the right to advise the Board of Governors on all academic matters.

Finance Committee.—(1) There shall be a Finance Committee constituted by the Board of Governors consisting of the following members, namely:—

1. (i) Vice-Chancellor;
2. (ii) two members nominated by the Board of Governors from its members; and
3. (iii) such other members as may be prescribed by the Statutes.

1. (2) The members of the Finance Committee nominated from the Board of Governors, other than the Vice-Chancellor, shall hold office so long as they continue as members of the Board of Governors or for a period of two years, whichever is earlier.
2. (3) The functions and duties of the Finance Committee shall be as follows, namely:—
   • (i) to examine and scrutinize the annual budget of the University and to make recommendations on financial matters to the Board of Governors;
   • (ii) to consider all proposals for new expenditure and to make recommendations to the Board of Governors;
   • (iii) to consider the periodical statement of accounts and to review the accounts of the University from time to time and to consider re-appropriation statements and to submit to the Board of Governors; and
   • (iv) to give its views and recommendations to the Board of Governors on any financial question affecting the University either on its own initiative or on reference from the Board of Governors.
3. (4) The Finance Committee shall meet at least four times in a year. The quorum for the meeting of the Finance Committee shall be one third of the total members.
4. (5) The Vice-Chancellor shall preside over the meetings of the Finance Committee and in his absence, a member elected at the meeting shall preside over.

Academic Council Academic Council.—(1) The Academic Council shall consist of the following members, namely:—

1. (i) Vice-Chancellor—Chairperson;
2. (ii) three Experts from the field of Science, Digital Technology and Humanities nominated by the Board of Governors on the recommendation of the Vice Chancellor;
3. (iii) Dean of the academic wing;
4. (iv) Dean of the research wing;
5. (v) all Professors of the University; and
6. (vi) two student representatives from the students of the University nominated by the Government and one of them shall be a girl student.

1. (2) The Registrar shall be the Secretary of the Academic Council.
2. (3) The Academic Council shall meet as decided by the Vice-Chancellor and in any case, the interval between two meetings shall not exceed sixty days.
3. (4) The quorum for the meeting of the Academic Council shall be one-third of the total members.
4. (5) The term of office of the nominated members of the Academic Council shall be two consecutive academic years. The term of office of other members shall be till the end of their official position or on completion of two consecutive academic years, whichever is earlier.
5. (6) The Academic Council shall be responsible for all academic programmes of the University including education, training and extension programs which the University may conduct from time to time with the approval of the Board of Governors.

Research Council Research Council.—(1) There shall be a Research Council consisting of the following members, namely:—

1. (i) Vice-Chancellor;
2. (ii) Deans;
3. (iii) Heads of Independent Centres of Excellence in Research, Heads of Interdisciplinary Centres of Excellence in Research and Heads of Research Centres of various Schools of the University; and
4. (iv) two directors or scientists from research institutions in the area of digital sciences, technology, interdisciplinary innovations, liberal arts or humanities, nominated by the Board of Governors;
5. (v) two student representatives from the students of the University nominated by the Government and one of them shall be a girl student.

1. (2) the Dean of Research wing nominated by the Vice-Chancellor shall be the co-ordinator of the Research Council.
2. (3) the Research Council shall be responsible for stewarding of all research activities of the University. The Research Council shall also solicit external research projects and shall set up research centers in various parts of the State to support research in digital technologies. The Research Council shall also be responsible for creating linkage with leading national and international universities, agencies and organizations to facilitate high quality research in the University.
3. (4) The duties of the Research Council shall be as may be prescribed by the Statutes.

Other Authorities.—The constitution, powers and functions of the other authorities that may be declared by the Statutes to be the authorities of the University, shall be such as may be prescribed.