Details obtained through the Right to Information Act have revealed apparent irregularities in the appointments of nearly 20 guest lecturers, with salary on an hourly basis, at the constituent colleges of Madurai Kamaraj University in the beginning of academic year 2015-16.
Information provided for requests filed by A.R. Nagarajan, secretary of NET/SLET Association, showed that many appointees did not meet the qualification criteria and the appointments were made without forming selection committees or conducting interviews as procedures demanded.
As per the documents, most of the appointments were made without prior approval from the Convenor’s Committee, which was in charge of the administration as there was no Vice-Chancellor.
The approvals were instead obtained only for sanctioning of salaries after the appointees started working in the colleges on an ‘ad-hoc basis.’
Hinting at appointment of unqualified persons, the documents showed that a candidate with postgraduation in Commerce was appointed for teaching History at the constituent college in Kottur near Theni.
Mr. Nagarajan alleged that many candidates had not cleared National Eligibility Test (NET) or State-level Eligibility Test (SLET) and they were also not doctorate holders.
“This is against University Grants Commission regulations. Many of the appointed candidates also had inadequate experience,” he alleged. For instance, two appointees for teaching Economics at the college in Andipatti and four appointees for teaching different subjects at the college in Sattur had no experience.
On the contrary, S. Madhusudhanan, a candidate from Madurai who has cleared SLET in Economics and has seven years of experience, said his application was never considered. “Though they did not advertise for these posts, I sent applications several times after knowing about the vacancies. My application was not even acknowledged,” he said.
For Mr. Nagarajan’s petition to Chief Minister’s Special Cell demanding investigation into the appointments, the university authorities responded saying these were made to tackle the urgent need for teachers.
A letter sent by the Directorate of Constituent Colleges at the MKU to the Legal Cell handling petitions at the university said the appointments were ‘purely temporary’ and proper appointments would be made after the appointment of Vice-Chancellor.
When contacted, P. Vijayan, Registrar (in-charge), MKU, claimed that he was not aware of these issues as he took charge only recently. “I will enquire and see if there is truth in the allegations,” he said.
Mr. Nagarajan, who obtained the information after one year following an appeal to the State Information Commission, alleged that the information provided was incomplete and in violation of the order of the commission.
“They had not provided details on the action taken for my petitions to CM’s Cell and Higher Education Secretary. I will appeal to the SIC again,” he said.
Documents showed that a candidate with postgraduation in Commerce was appointed for teaching History
