Bhubaneswar, Oct. 10: Eleven vice-chancellors across the state have urged governor S.C. Jamir, who happens to be the chancellor of universities, to enhance their tenure from three to five years.

As of now, only the vice-chancellor (VC) of Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) alone enjoys a five-year term, while all other VCs have a three-year tenure.

There are 11 government-run universities in the state other than the BPUT. These are: Utkal University, Berhampur University, Sambalpur University, North Odisha University, Fakir Mohan University, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Sri Jagannath Sankskrit Viswavidyalay, Ravenshaw University, Utkal University of Culture and Veer Surendra Sai University of Culture.

The plea came following Jamir’s directive to the VCs to come up with suggestions to various problems faced by the state universities.

The VCs have argued that a five-year term will help them execute duties more effectively.

“There are several academic and administrative decisions and initiatives that take considerable time. However, by the time our initiatives bear fruits, the term ends. Moreover, the successors may not be equally enthusiastic about the previous VC’s ideas and ignore them. Therefore, the effort goes wasted. The vice-chancellors must be given at least a five-year tenure to discharge their duties effectively,” said a VC requesting anonymity.

However, the demands have raised questions as the plea comes at a time when the government has proposed to reduce the VC’s tenure from five to three years in the amendments to the Biju Patnaik University of Technology Act.

This apart, the VCs have also urged the governor to raise their retirement age from 65 to 70.