‘Gave Nagpur University the ignition to march towards success’

NAGPUR: Sitting in the chair for the last time in his office on Tuesday, Nagpur University vice chancellor SP Kane was smiling. On the day of demitting his office, the outgoing VC had a sense of satisfaction on his face. On the same day in 2015, Kane had taken charge of one of the oldest universities in the country. In his mostly successful tenure, where he brought about revolutionary changes in association with former pro-VC Pramod Yeole, he was also subjected to intense criticism.While handing over the charge to Amravati University VC Murlidhar Chandekar, Kane spoke from the heart.
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How would you describe your tenure?
Mostly satisfactory, primarily because of the fact that we’ve been able to expedite the result declaration process, which was the biggest thorn in NU’s flesh and was directly connected to the students. During my tenure, we succeeded in declaring over 90% results within the stipulated period of 45 days.
You have also taken many tough decisions.
When you are in the hot seat, you have to take tough decision in the larger interest of the institution. We have to keep personal relations aside. My intentions were very clear right from the beginning of my term and therefore, I didn’t succumb to any kind of pressure. Many tried to malign my reputation and also dragged my family members unnecessarily. I’m happy that I could give the university the ignition to start its march towards success.
NAAC accreditation couldn’t take place in your tenure.
We tried our best, but somehow we couldn’t send the self-study report to NAAC. The change in rules added to our problems.
Your dream project of 50:50 exams remained only on paper.
When I was aggressively pitching for the project, many senior academicians and the Principals’ Forum vehemently opposed the concept, citing one excuse or the other. When I tried to convince them that the NU would bear the entire cost of the students, the same people took a U-turn. I then constituted a committee which failed to submit its report.