Acting VC Dr Devanand Shinde a strong contender for varsity head

As the University of Mumbai awaits to get its next Vice Chancellor following the removal of former VC Dr Sanjay Deshmukh, its current acting VC Dr Devanand Shinde is seen as one of the top contenders for the post, say sources in the varsity and the government.

Dr Devanand Shinde, who is the full time VC of Shivaji University in Kolhapur and has been handling the charge of the University of Mumbai since August 2017 has applied for the post of VC at the University of Mumbai. 

Shinde, who is currently incharge at both universities is seen as one of the most suited candidates for the post after having worked on resolving the unprecedented mess with respect to results that started during the tenure of Dr Deshmukh.

In Shinde's six month tenure, the varsity has managed to declare most of its results in time, making Shinde's case stronger. "After Deshmukh's removal, it would be crucial to appoint a person who has a positive image and in who's tenure the varsity can get rid of the bad reputation earned in the past. Since Shinde has already been around for sometime, it would be safest to retain him," said a senior varsity official on the condition of anonymity.

Before being appointed as the VC of Shivaji University in 2015, 54-year-old Shinde was working as the Head of Department of Chemical Technology at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University (BAMU), Aurangabad. 
With a teaching experience of 27 years, he was a part of several research bodies of the government.

The varsity has got 96 applications for the post of VC which will be scrutinised by the Search Committee.

The poor implementation of on-screen marking (OSM) system introduced under by VC Sanjay Deskhmukh led to an unprecedented delay in declaration of results at the varsity leaving over 3 lakh students in a lurch. This led to the removal of Deshmukh by the governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao after which Devanand Shinde was given the additional charge of the post on August 9.