Lecturers at Madurai Kamaraj University have raised objections to redeployment of nine teaching staff from Annamalai University to the departments of History, Business Administration, Physics, Biochemistry, Botany, and Tamil.
Madurai Kamaraj University Faculty Association (MUFA), in a letter submitted to the administration, said that while a Government Order dated November 7 explicitly stated that only Assistant Professors would be deployed during redeployment, Associate Professors and Professors had been assigned posts.
Quoting his own example, P. Nagoorkani, Assistant Professor, Department of Modern History, who has filed a writ petition before Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, says he worked as a professor at the Madurai Kamaraj University for 12 years. However, improper implementation of promotions under career advancement scheme (CAS) affected his elevation to the post of Associate Professor.
“When teaching staff in the capacity of Associate Professors and Professors come to our departments, they automatically gain seniority over us based on designation. The concept of station seniority - based on the professor’s term - does not hold good,” he says.
Mr. Nagoorkani, in his writ petition, has said that though an initial phase of redeployment by the Higher Education Department to various colleges was completed in 2016, an extension of three years was provided to each of the professors through a separate government order. “The redeployed professors may probably hold on to their term continuously with more government orders in their favour,” he says.
MUFA has also stated that the government order defies the powers of the Syndicate, the highest body in the university.
“Ideally, any sort of deployment or recruitment must happen only after approval from the Syndicate. The Higher Education Department has bypassed this body to allow redeployment,” an office-bearer said.
“With several vacancies available through the Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB), why is the government choosing to assign people from Annamalai University to MKU? There are several other colleges that are short-staffed,” he said.
Vice-Chancellor M. Krishnan said the administration had merely received the government order. “We will be able to determine if we are rejecting it or comply with it only after the syndicate meeting which is likely to be held in January first week,” he said.
