Top officials step down, Kerala State Higher Education Council set for major revamp

Kochi: Kerala State Higher Education Council (KSHEC), the state’s apex advisory body on higher education, is set for a major reshuffle with vice-chairman Rajan Gurukkal and member secretary Rajan Varghese resigning from their respective posts. The state govt on Tuesday issued a relieving order by accepting their resignations.Although the tenure of the present council extends until Sept 2027, the new office-bearers are expected to be announced on Wednesday.Gurukkal and Varghese played a key role in introducing several transformative initiatives in the higher education sector. These include the four-year undergraduate programme (FYUGP), the Kerala Institutional Ranking Framework (KIRF) and the State Assessment and Accreditation Centre (SAAC). KIRF is an annual ranking mechanism for higher education institutions based on National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) parameters and state-specific indicators.The council also spearheaded initiatives aimed at internationalising higher education, through an initiatives like Scholar Connect software and the Study in Kerala project, besides launching DIGI-COL for the digitization of colleges. During their tenure, 13 Centres of Excellence, including the Kerala Institute of Advanced Studies (KIAS) at Munnar, were established.Other notable initiatives included the Brain Gain Scheme for attracting non-resident Indian academics, the Kerala Academic Library Network (KALNET), and the development of KSHEC as a repository of academic resources.According to reports, Achuthsankar S Nair, former professor of bioinformatics at the University of Kerala, is being considered by the higher education department for the post of vice-chairman of the council.