The University Grants Commission (UGC) on Friday informed the Kerala High Court that the period of study leave taken by Priya Varghese, wife of K.K. Ragesh, private secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, for obtaining PhD cannot be treated as teaching or research experience for claiming appointment to a teaching post.
The affidavit was filed in response to a writ petition filed by Joseph Skariah, Assistant Professor in the Department of Malayalam at St. Berchmans College, Changanassery, challenging the Kannur University's decision to appoint Ms. Varghese to the post of Associate Professor in the Malayalam department of the university.
As per Regulation 8.2 (x) of UGC Regulation 2018, study leave can only be counted as a service for the purpose of retirement benefits. In fact, the required teaching experience to be eligible for appointment in the post of Associate Professor was eight years, which shall not include the leave period taken for study purposes. The eight years of experience should be either in teaching or in research, the affidavit added.
