Chinese University (CUHK) Vice Chancellor Rocky Tuan on Friday came under fire for missing a Legislative Council meeting for the third week running, as it discussed the plan to revamp the university's governing council.

CUHK council chairman John Chai said he wrote to Tuan himself earlier this week, but got a quick response saying that he was on sick leave Thursday and Friday.

He told lawmakers he agreed that Tuan should attend the meeting in person as he has a responsibility to explain important issues as the university's top administrator.

Several lawmakers were critical of the vice chancellor's absence, with unionist legislator Dennis Leung asking if there was a need to replace him with someone who isn't always sick.

"Why is the vice chancellor sick whenever he has to come to Legco? If he's so sick, is he still suitable to take on his role, should we hire a healthier vice chancellor to lead the university?" Leung asked.

Election Committee lawmaker Peter Koon said it appeared that Tuan was trying to avoid the meeting. He added that after listening to Chai's description last week of CUHK's governance issues, he thinks "it's worse than a kindergarten".

The chairwoman of the bills committee on the CUHK plan, Priscilla Leung, noted that Tuan had met with Executive Councillors and lawmakers on Wednesday, but she said it was hard for members to make further comment when he's on sick leave.

The bills committee is vetting a controversial reform proposal - tabled by three lawmakers - that would downsize the CUHK council and increase the proportion of outside members on it.

Seats on the council would be reduced from 55 to between 25 and 34 - and the ratio of internal to external members would be lowered from half-half to between 1:1.6 and more than one to two.

Priscilla Leung described the package as being "too mild", arguing that the ratio of outsiders would still be rather low.

She said when other universities had run into governance problems in the past, more people from outside the institutions had been brought in to try to improve the workings of their governing councils compared to the current CUHK plan.