AN INTERVIEW WITH THE VICE CHANCELLOR

- Lalnunkimi Colney & William Lalrindika

IV Sem., JMC/14

On a moody Wednesday when the rain and sun were at their fiercest battle, we walked into the Vice Chancellors office, hearts beating fast. From Monday through Friday and on most weekends too duty calls Prof. R. Lalthantluanga who is seated at his office punctually from 9 to 5 with a quick lunch break in between. As we walk towards his desk, Prof. R. Lalthantluanga is busy reading and signing files stacked on his table. At 69, a little of his hair has turned white but he still wears that gentle look that makes it easy for any student to converse with him. Among the Mizo academicians, Prof. R. Lalthantluanga has reached the very top and set a high bar for the rest, but an air of humility graces his presence even as we, just another two students from the 1670 of Mizoram University approach him. He chuckles a little as he goes over the questions, and starts his story with a smile. 

Q. How do you think your journey has gone, starting from being a faculty member at Ahmednagar College to retiring as a Vice Chancellor at Mizoram University?
 - Yeah, it has been a very long time since 1968 when I started my career as a teacher to today, when I am going to retire as Vice Chancellor, it has been 46 years. And when I look back I have no regrets and I think by the Grace of God, my journey has been quite okay and I have no complaints.

Q. How does it feel to be the first Mizo Vice chancellor?
- I am very happy that I happen to be the first Mizo Vice Chancellor, that doesn’t mean that I am the only one qualified, it is my luck to be the first Mizo Vice Chancellor of a Central University like Mizoram University. I hope there will be a number of Mizo vice chancellors in the years to come.

Q. MZU has been accredited A grade by NAAC, what did it take to get to this place?
 - Regarding the A grade credit by NAAC, I think it is the joint effort of all the teaching faculty, the administration and the students including the research scholars who have made it possible for the University to get A grade.

Q. Have you been a part of the interview board or an active part of recruiting in MPSC, UPSC,  SSC? 
 - Yes, I have been a member of interview board for All India Service, of UPSC right from 1994 and besides that I was also a member of the board for certain selection like scientists etc. I have also been a member of interview board in the MPSC for selection of MCS and MPS. But I was never a member of selection committee in SSC.

Q. What discoveries have you made from your research?
 - Regarding my research, I have worked on structure and function of hemoglobin of certain animals. I have sequenced the hemoglobin that is the globin part of a few animals likeyak,gayal,banteng and larvae of Chironomusthummithummi. Apart from determining the animo sequence of hemoglobin the structure and function and relationship of these hemoglobins are also studied.

Q. There is a talk that goes around, “University thawk chu inchhung vek.” Is it true to a certain point, if it is, is it nepotism?
 - Since I do not know who are the relatives of the ermployees, I have no comment. As far as Group A and faculty is concerned I depend mainly on the experts decision to select the best.

Q. Where do you see this University ten years down the line?
 - I think this university will be progressing further in the next ten years, for that, all the community, fraternity of the university, the teaching faculty, staff and student have to work hard because there is great competition these days and in order to compete with the other universities which are located in more central places, we have to work harder. Because here first of all, there is difficulty in getting faculty because many people from other parts of the country even if they come and join, they are looking for jobs in other places which are nearer to their homes so even retention of good faculty is very difficult in this part of the country. Because of that, we have to work harder and provide better facilities so that these faculty are retained.

Q. Who do you think the next VC will be? Do you think it will be a Mizo or a BJP candidate? It is often seen that BJP puts their candidates as Vice Chancellor, do you think this could happen to Mizoram?
- The search committee has been constituted who will see the bio data of the potential VC’s, and I hope they will recommend those who are the best among the candidates.

Q. Highly skilled and able people such as Joy L Pachuau are said to have been screened out during the interview process at MZU. Could you explain to us why there is a chance of this happening.
- Regarding Joy L Pachuau, she was not screened out, that should be very clear to all, our ordinance says, in the first advertisement there should be atleast three eligible candidates. If there are less than 3 eligible candidates, you have to re-advertise. So, in the last advertisement, there are not 3 eligible candidates so we had to re-advertise as per the ordinance.

Q. What are the academic achievements you have seen during your tenure?
‘A’ Grade in NAAC’s accreditation is one of the achievements during my tenure. However the assesment period covers even the period before my tenure, we could fill about 85% of the faulty positions while the average vacancyin the central universities is 30-40%. many of the buildings which were lying incomplete for a long time were completed. We could start new academic departments like Sociology, Architecture, Civil and Electrical Engineering. New centres like Centre for Biodiversity, Centre for Petroleum Exploration and Centre for Disaster Management have been sanctioned. We have received permission to start B.Ed and M.Ed programmes for next acamdemic session. The student enrollment has also doubled during the last 5 years.

Q. Will you miss being an academician or you think it is time you one rest?
 - I think with my age, you should take rest but one cannot completely take rest, there will be academic duties to fulfill.

Q. What message would you like to leave for the students of MZU? 
 - We have to be more serious in our studies, particularly in attending classes. We should have personal integrity in all our endeavors and strive only for the best.

Q. What struggles and challenges did you face during your tenure as a VC?
- There were not many challenges, the main challenge was to get fund from UGC. Funds are limited, particularly during the 12th plan we expected more grants than the 11thplan but it was not as we hoped. With inflation, the rate of infrastructure cannot be fast paced. And also, regarding many other things like non-teaching staff, the UGC has made a guideline that there can be only 1.1 per faculty, but for a University like ours that is not enough.

Q. You have set a high standard for the Mizo Academicians, what did it take for you to reach this height of success. 
Determination, hardwork and a good team of supporters. When I was going to set out for M.Sc. the state was at chaos because of rambuai and I couldn’t get any money from home so a minister gave me Rs.150, I also got a disturbance stipen scholarship and a UGC scholarship with the aid of the principal. It has not been an easy journey but it has been a journey of determination.

Q. Much of the Mizo youth are preferring to join in the Government jobs after passing out rather than following up in their line of profession. What do you say to this? 
The Mizo youth mostly prefer to go in the general line instead of skill development and vocational line. Recently, the UGC gave us a software program course and we put out admission notice but there were hardly any entries. Instead of only aiming for BA and MA degrees, the Mizo youth have to set their eyes on vocational career lines.