Prof Faizan Mustafa to demit office as NALSAR Vice-Chancellor; University begins hunt for new VC

NALSAR Hyderabad has begun its search for a new Vice-Chancellor, given the imminent superannuation of Prof Faizan Mustafa, who is set to demit office on July 31 this year..The University recently put out an advertisement calling for applicants to fill the post. The deadline for sending an indication of interest is May 12..The qualifications for the post are:A distinguished academician with a minimum of 10 years of experience as Professor of Law in a University or 10 years of experience in an equivalent position in a reputed research and/or academic organisation with proof of having demonstrated academic and administrative leadership and possessing the highest level of competence, integrity, morals and institutional commitment;They shall be a full-time salaried officer of the University;They shall hold office for a term of five (5) years or until the attainment of the age of seventy (70) years, whichever is earlier, and shall be eligible for re-appointment for further term(s) till the attainment of seventy years of age; andThey shall not be more than sixty-five (65) years of age as on April 12, 2022..Interested persons fulfilling the eligibility requirements may submit their indication of interest in the prescribed format, while clearly bringing out their research, teaching and administrative experience/achievements.Distinguished academicians with excellent experience in higher education can also be nominated on invitation by the Search Committee constituted by the Chancellor..The Search Committee includes:1. Prof SP Gautam - Convenor (Former Vice-Chancellor, Rani Durgavati Vishwavidyalaya, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh)2. Prof Upendra Baxi (Former Vice-Chancellor, Delhi University)3. Prof Gurmeet Singh (Vice-Chancellor, Pondicherry University).The Committee will shortlist applicants and call them for an interaction, following which a panel of three or more names will be submitted to the Chief Justice of the High Court of Telangana, who, as Chancellor of the University, is empowered to make the final decision in this matter..Under the NALSAR Act, 1998 the Vice-Chancellor is appointed for a term of 5 years and is eligible for re-appointment for further terms..The duly filled in indication of interest may be sent either by email at searchcommittee@nalsar.ac.in or by speed post, after super-scribing the envelope ‘Statement in support of the Indication of Interest for the post of Vice-Chancellor’ to The Nodal Officer, Search Committee, NALSAR University of Law, Justice City, Shameerpet, Medchal-Malkajgiri District, Hyderabad – 500101, Telangana..I don't consider this as retirement: Prof Faizan Mustafa.Prof Mustafa took over as VC of NALSAR in 2012, and has served two consecutive terms. He was previously the founding Vice-Chancellor of National Law University, Odisha, which was formed in 2009, and head of the KIIT Law School in Bhubaneshwar..Speaking to Bar & Bench on his tenure at NALSAR coming to an end, Prof Mustafa said, "When I joined NALSAR, the University was getting bad publicity in the media, there was a Judges Inquiry Committee, lot of student unrest, the faculty was divided, the previous Vice-Chancellor had to leave in the middle of his term. So, I took over during a very very difficult time. The University was in debt of ₹12 crore. I have the satisfaction that in 10 years, we had a smooth sailing. We got the highest NAAC rank of A++ (3.6 out of 4 - which is the highest). We introduced a number of courses. We became a Category 1 University as per UGC notification, and in terms of financial health, we are fine. When I took over, the student scholarship fund was only ₹3.5 lakh and I have made it ₹1 crore.""The greatest contribution I'd like to mention is - I took over when the control model of administration was in place. I brought in the liberty model of administration under which we gave due importance to all stakeholders; the students were involved in the administration of the University as well as the drafting of the University Regulations. When I took over, there was a segregation in the hostel because allotment of rooms was as per merit, so reserved category students were not getting the opportunity to share rooms with those higher in merit. So I made the allotment on the basis of a lottery system, so one will never know who will be their room partner since it was not to be on merit," he added..Prof Mustafa went on to share,"The entire academic curriculum was based on mandatory courses which I brought down to a great extent and introduced more electives to give students more choice. I also broke the hierarchies of classes which would allow third year BA.LL.B. and third year LL.B. students to sit in the same class. I also brought in the interdisciplinarity and integration of knowledge, which is now being spoken about in the new Education Policy. So I had a fairly good tenure in terms of the stability which we gave to the University; most regulations of NALSAR were made during this period."On his demitting office, Prof Mustafa said,"I don't consider this as retirement. I am on a permanent job and was on deputation from Aligarh Muslim University. So I go back to my parent University and there are other universities that are keen to have me.On being asked about his future plans, Prof Mustafa said,"I have not made up my mind. I personally feel we should cross the bridge when we reach it. But as of now, I should be reporting back to my parent institution.""The amount of love and respect I got from the students and the cooperation I got from all the teachers and the State government, and the kind of mentoring I received from the Chief Justices who were my Chancellors, is something I will remember for a long time," he concluded..Read our 2014 interview with Prof Mustafa here..[See below - Indication of Interest form]