With several colleges already functioning without a head due to lack of qualified candidates, the new regulations of the University Grants Commission (UGC) fixing a five-year term for college principals has not gone down well with the principals' federation in the state.

The federation has written to the Union Minister of Human Resource and Development Kapil Sibal requesting him to reconsider the decision.

The federation is of the opinion that fixing a five-year term would lead to further chaos, as eligible candidates in the age group of 40 to 45 would not come forward as no one would like to get back to teaching after serving as a principal of a college.

"Moreover as per the present norms, once a college teacher accepts the post of a principal, his/her claim to the teacher's post is automatically relinquished. In that case, what will the principal do after the term gets over?" questioned Nandkumar Nikam, president of the principal's federation.

The UGC regulation also says that the tenure of the principal could be extended for another five years but not beyond that.

Nikam said the principal was an administrative head of the college and had a specialised role. "It takes time to smoothly perform these roles and five years is too short a period for that," he said. Some educationists, however, have a different take on the issue. "Fixing the term for principal's post is a positive step. It is better to have new heads after a certain period to implement fresh and innovative ideas," said Gajanan Ekbote, executive chairman of Progressive Education Society. Convenor of Vidyapeeth Vikas Manch Dhananjay Kulkarni agreed with him.