THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Education Minister E.T. Mohammed Basheer has defended the inclusion of higher judicial officers in leadership roles of the National University of Advanced Legal Studies.

In an article released as rejoinder to criticism raised by Opposition Leader V.S. Achuthanandan, the Minister said that it was appropriate to have such persons in top positions of a national university, which was to offer training programmes even for those in the judiciary.

As per the Act passed by the Assembly, the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court is the Chancellor of the university. The Chief Justice of India is the Visitor. As many as seven other national law schools or universities have higher judicial officers as chancellors or visitors, Mr. Basheer said. He said the general council and executive council had wide representation from the academic field, judiciary and the executive. Though it was envisaged as a self-financing university, it could not be considered as a private university as described by the Opposition leader. Mr. Basheer recalled that Mr. Achuthanandan had said that the Government would have little control over the university. But, the Government did not wish for much control in the administrative affairs of the university.

Yet, the governing bodies of the university had the presence of representatives of the Assembly and the Government and also the Education Minister.

He added that the concern expressed by the Opposition leader that the existing law colleges would be transferred to the new university was baseless. It was not an affiliating university. One of its main objectives was to do research in frontier areas of emerging areas of law and scholarship. The criticism that the poor would not get any benefit from the university was unfounded. Reservation for scheduled and backward communities in admissions had been provided for under the law.

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