Sampurnanand Sanskrit University VC Gets Three-Year Extension

VARANASI: Governor and Chancellor Anandiben Patel has appointed Professor Bihari Lal Sharma to another three-year term as vice-chancellor of Sampurnanand Sanskrit University. Raj Bhavan issued the letter on Monday, giving the university continuity at a time when Sanskrit institutions are trying to connect classical scholarship with current academic standards and student expectations.

The appointment was made under Section 12(1) of the Uttar Pradesh State Universities Act, 1973, according to the report. Professor Sharma first took charge in 2023. The new period is described as three years from the date on which he assumes charge under the latest order.

In a statement shared after the decision, Sharma expressed gratitude to the chancellor and described the appointment as a responsibility rather than simply a personal honour. He said his priorities would include Kashi’s knowledge tradition, Sanskrit’s Vedic and classical inheritance and the university’s academic standing. The message also thanked Raj Bhavan officers, university colleagues and supporters.

Continuity can help projects survive the handover cycle that often slows universities, but another term also creates a clearer basis for accountability. Students and teachers will be able to measure the next three years against commitments already made. Course quality, research support, transparent recruitment, timely examinations, hostels, libraries and digital access are more meaningful indicators than ceremonial announcements.

The report credited Sharma’s first term with new courses, work on infrastructure and efforts in research and innovation. Those broad claims deserve regular public documentation. The university could publish an annual academic report with enrolment, completion rates, vacancies, funded research, digitised manuscripts and audited project status. Such disclosure would allow supporters and critics to debate evidence rather than slogans.

Sampurnanand Sanskrit University occupies a special place in Varanasi. Its challenge is not to choose between tradition and modernity, but to build rigorous pathways between them. Manuscript conservation needs climate control and metadata; classical grammar benefits from strong language teaching; graduates need recognised skills and fair recruitment opportunities. International interest in Sanskrit can also produce partnerships, provided scholarship is not reduced to cultural branding.

The vice-chancellor’s reappointment is an administrative decision, not a verdict that every university problem has been solved. A second term will bring difficult questions about finances, faculty capacity and student services alongside the prestige of the institution.

For Professor Sharma, Monday’s letter offers time—and removes the excuse of a short runway. The best use of that stability will be a published, dated programme against which the university community can track progress. In a campus devoted to enduring texts, transparent contemporary governance should be part of the legacy as well.