A day after five professors of Bangalore University (BU) complained of harassment at the workplace to the Karnataka State Commission for Women, the varsity has decided to issue memos to them for not informing the university that they were filing the complaint with the Commission.
Addressing a press conference after the syndicate meeting on Wednesday, BU Vice-Chancellor (VC) B. Thimme Gowda said the professors had not filed the complaint “through the university”. They did this even as the university’s own Workplace Harassment Committee was looking into the matter, he added. The Head of the Kannada Department, against whom the professors’ complaint had been reportedly directed, was present at the press conference.
BU Registrar (Administration) K.K. Seethamma said, “According to the service rules, any government servant cannot approach the Commission without informing the employer. They can, however, approach the commission if no justice is delivered within the system. BU had forwarded the complaint to a committee. This communication should have been routed through proper channel. That is why disciplinary action will be taken against them.”
“This may even be a pre-empted move to escape transfer to Kolar Postgraduate Centre to balance workload as two of the four lecturers in the department are juniors. ,” Prof. Gowda said, adding that one of the professors had been promoted and even granted a year’s sabbatical.
Meanwhile, Manjula Manasa, Chairperson of the Commission said, “The professors approached the Commission as their complaints to the university were ignored. They submitted the required documents on Wednesday. ”
