Bhubaneswar: In what can be seen as a record of sorts, a total of 49 candidates have applied for the post of vice-chancellor of Sambalpur University in Odisha which has been lying vacant for over two months.
However, applications of three candidates have been rejected during screening by the Higher Education department on the grounds of age limit and lack of experience. Now, 46 candidates are to participate in the appointment process.
The post fell vacant after former vice chancellor Sanjiv Mittal resigned in August on medical grounds.
According to reports, 37 of the eligible applicants belong to educational institutions outside Odisha, while the rest are from higher educational institutions in the state.
Screening of the application has been completed by a committee of the department and the applicants will be interviewed to select three eligible candidates from the 46 for the final round.
Thereafter, the names of the three selected candidates will be forwarded to Governor Ganeshi Lal, who is the Chancellor of public universities in the state, for interview. The governor will interview the three candidates and select one for the post of VC, according to sources.
Following Mittal’s resignation, the department had issued advertisements in September seeking applications for the post of VC. Mittal, who was appointed as the VC of the University in January last year, was embroiled in a series of controversies amid allegation of financial irregularity and mismanagement of funds, sources added.
