At least five members in the senate of the University of Calicut are set to lose their membership because of the culmination of their tenure as local body representatives.
K.K. Abdul Gafoor from Wayanad, N. Shiyolal from Kozhikode, V.K.M. Shafi from Malappuram, E. Chandrababu from Palakkad, and Aljo P. Antony from Thrissur were elected to the senate from the local bodies category. Three of them are affiliated to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], and the others are from the Indian Union Muslim League. While four of them did not contest the just-concluded local body polls, another was defeated when the results were declared.
Sources said that they could continue in the senate for another three months. However, the authorities may start the process for the election of the new members soon.
Senate meeting
Meanwhile, the senate is scheduled to meet again on Thursday to pick its nominee for the search-cum-selection panel to choose a new Vice-Chancellor for the university. Though Dharmaraj Adat, former V-C, Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, and A. Sabu, member secretary, Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment, were selected at the senate meetings held on August 23 and October 30, respectively, both of them had declined to take up the job.
Thursday’s meeting follows a direction from the Kerala High Court where the government has challenged the Chancellor’s constitution of the search-cum-selection committee on October 31. The court has asked the university authorities to seek the consent of the nominee as well. The Chancellor had also issued a notification seeking application for the V-C’s post, and the last date for sending them was December 5.
Published – December 18, 2025 02:30 am IST
