Hyderabad, July 1: Everyone wants to be a VC in Andhra.

Over 500 teachers have applied for the posts of vice-chancellors of 10 universities that have come up in the last three years.

The tenures of the VCs of three other regular universities — Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Dravidian University and Telugu University — will end in August.

The government, as is the tradition, has asked the search committee to look for candidates for these three, but has invited direct applications from teachers for the remaining 10 universities that have newly come up.

Among them are the Yogi Vemana, Kadapa, Nannayya, Nizamabad, Palamoor and Mahboobnagar universities.

Officials of the higher education department were surprised to find they had nearly 500 applications for the posts.

The applications were landing everywhere, even at the chamber of the governor, who is the chancellor of all state universities, and the chief minister’s office.

Some aspirants have specifically opted for particular universities, while others are ready to work anywhere.

Education department sources said the teachers, among them numerous professors and readers, have applied for the posts as there are no eligibility norms other than the fact that candidates must have a good academic record and administrative acumen.

“There are no prescribed eligibility norms for the appointment of a VC. A VC should be an academic and should have good administrative capabilities. Based on these two qualities, the search committees are selecting VCs for existing universities,” said a senior official in the department of higher education.

Most applicants, the sources added, hoped they would be selected on “political” and “social” grounds.

“The direct appointment of VCs for new universities gives us a huge opportunity,” said a reader from Osmania University who has applied for the post.

“We know that political and caste equations play a significant role in the selection of VCs,” he said, adding that the Telengana factor alone stood in his favour.