New Delhi, Nov. 18: Those aged above 65 will no longer be considered for the vice-chancellor’s job in any of the country’s 44 central universities, the Union human resource development ministry has decided.

The immediate impact will be on the 12 new central universities created in 2009, whose vice-chancellors’ five-year tenures are to end on March 1 next year. Many of these university heads will not be eligible for reappointment because of their age.

Earlier, the ministry used to appoint people aged over 65 with the condition that they must retire once they reached 70. For example, A.M. Pathan was appointed vice-chancellor of the Central University of Karnataka in 2009 when he was 67. He retired in June 2012.

A senior ministry official said the age cut-off had been introduced to allow every vice-chancellor to complete their five-year tenure, thus getting ample time to achieve their set targets.

For the past year or so, each candidate short-listed for a vice-chancellor’s job has been asked to make a presentation on what they plan to do if selected. Targets have been set for the successful candidates on the basis of the discussions at the interview.

“The idea is that they should get a full five years to achieve their goals. A vice-chancellor’s achievements will be reviewed after three years (so they can be given feedback) and again after five years (if there’s a possibility of reappointment),” the official said.

A central university vice-chancellor, who did not want to be quoted, opposed the new age norm which, he said, would deny a second term to half the incumbent vice-chancellors.

He said many of the 12 new central universities lacked a permanent campus and, if their vice-chancellors were given a second term, they could have finished the job.

But the Central University of Rajasthan vice-chancellor, M.M. Salunkhe, welcomed the new rule saying three-year or four-year tenures do not help a vice-chancellor focus on institution-building.

“There are instances of people getting three-year tenures as vice-chancellors of state universities, spending the first year trying to understand the university system, starting some good work in the second year and (spending the) third year trying to get an extension,” Salunkhe said.

The ministry has begun the process of vice-chancellor selection for the 12 new central universities.