Mumbai: After functioning without a full-time registrar for almost two years, the University of Mumbai (MU) has finally filled the key post.
Prasad Karande, an associate professor at Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), who previously served as MU's examination director until March, has been promoted to the office of registrar, the varsity's administrative head. He was picked by the varsity administration on Saturday, shortly after carrying out interviews of shortlisted contenders the same day.
The post of registrar, along with other key authorities including exam director and deans of faculties, were vacant for a long time after the term of the vice chancellor Suhas Pednekar came to an end in September 2022. While the varsity eventually filled the latter positions, it kept dragging its feet on putting a full-time registrar in place. Karande was appointed only after the state government issued an ultimatum to have the post filled by August 17.
Much like Pooja Raundale, the new Director of the Board of Examination and Evaluation (BoEE) appointed in January this year, Karande was picked in a second round of recruitment. In both the cases, the varsity's scrutiny committees had rejected all the aspirants who had applied in the first round as being unsuitable for their respective jobs.
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Karande worked as temporary exam director for around one year until Raundale took over the charge from him. He is still working as a consultant with the exam department to ensure a seamless transition to the new head.
According to a source, with loyalty high on its agenda, the university leadership struggled to find someone reliable for the position. The varsity was keen to allot the post to Baliram Gaikwad the Director at the varsity's Department of Lifelong Learning and Extension (DLLE), who has been functioning as the in-charge registrar since January this year.
However, he was reluctant to accept it as it would have meant accepting a smaller salary than the one he currently draws. This is because the registrar, an administrative assignment, is in a lower-pay band than the academic posts such as head of DLLE. As a result, he continued to occupy the registrar's office as an additional responsibility while retaining his higher salary.
Pradeep Sawant, a former MU senate member from Yuva Sena, youth wing of Shiv Sena (UBT), said that they had been demanding a regular registrar. "We had a meeting with the higher and technical education minister Chandrakant Patil along with Member of Legislative Council (MLC) Anil Parab, following which the minister set the August 17 deadline to make appointment on the post," he said.
MU has been without a full-time registrar after Sudhir Puranik, the then-registrar, went on a long leave due to health reasons. He passed away in April this year after battling a prolonged illness. Although MU filled the post with temporary appointees, the process for hiring full-time registrar started only after the university got Ravindra Kulkarni as its new VC in June 2023.
While the advertisement to apply for registrar's posts was issued in September last year, the varsity kept extending the last date of application in the hopes of finding more candidates. The application process finally culminated on November 3, 2023. Around 15 candidates were shortlisted for the interview, but none of them was deemed suitable for the post. A second advertisement seeking fresh applications was issued on July 8 this year.
