Tamil Nadu - Tiruchi   

University blamed of justifying violations

TIRUCHI: The Joint Co-ordination Council (JCC) of Association of University Teachers (AUT) and Tamil Nadu Government Collegiate Teachers’ Association (TNGCTA) has accused the Bharathidasan University of justifying “blatant violations” in appointments of 36 lecturers and principals in its three constituent colleges.

Vice-Chancellor M. Ponnavaikko’s response to the charges raised by the JCC was “confessional”, according to a memorandum the Council has submitted to the Governor.

Emphasising that only UGC norms are applicable for filling up posts in constituent arts and science colleges of the university, the memorandum said that the question of applying AICTE norms for appointing candidates with M.E/M.Tech qualifications does not arise.

As per the Act and statutes of the university, the Heads of departments of relevant discipline should find a place in the selection committee. The response to non-inclusion of heads of Bio-Chemistry and Bio-Technology departments was a “total distortion of facts,” the JCC secretary A. Pasupathy said in the memorandum.

Questioning the selection of a degree holder in Bio-Chemistry for a post in Bio-Technology at the expense of many qualified candidates in the subject, and the selection of a candidate with a degree in Sociology for a vacancy in the department of Social Work, the JCC memorandum said the Vice-Chancellor’s stand in favour of Post Graduates with NET/SLET qualification over Ph.D. degree holders was “denigrating”. It was not in consonance with the policy of the UGC which has declared research as an important dimension of a teacher in higher education.

As for selection of principals, the VC has shifted the blame on the Chairman of the scrutiny committee instead of owning moral responsibility for the “violation”.

Awarding of 35 marks – 10 marks for teaching skill, 10 marks for subject knowledge and 15 marks for interview – as against the provision of 15 marks out of 100 marks in the score sheet for performance in the interview was “unilateral”. The admission by the VC that 130 odd candidates were interviewed on a single day confirms the JCC’s stand that the interview was a “farce”, the memorandum said.

The absence of the governor nominee for a particular duration of the interview process has been admitted by the VC himself. Conducting the interview without the Governor / Government nominee is a gross violation of the Act and Statutes of the university, the JCC said, reiterating its demand for keeping the appointments in abeyance until a probe is instituted to bring out the complete facts.

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