A war of words is going on between P. Abdul Hameed, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) MLA and Senate member, University of Calicut, and the pro-Left Association of Calicut University Teachers (ACT) over the appointment of an Associate Professor at the Department of Statistics in the university.
It has been alleged that S.D. Krishnarani’s appointment as Associate Professor in the department was illegal as the post had not been sanctioned either by the University Grants Commission (UGC) or the State government. Claiming that she is a close relative of a Syndicate member, Mr. Hameed has pointed out that his request to the Syndicate to get a copy of the UGC order sanctioning the post was turned down by the university authorities. Responding to this, the ACT accused the MLA of trying to tarnish the image of the university, and termed his allegations baseless. The association claimed that many posts of teachers in university departments had been left vacant for years. The Syndicate and the Vice Chancellor had been trying to fill these posts in a time-bound manner.
The appointments were backed by court orders and UGC regulations and were in line with the Kerala State and Subordinate Service Rules. The ACT also alleged that the United Democratic Front was trying to defame the university.
Mr. Hameed, however, retorted saying the association should release the official order sanctioning the post. “Their reluctance to do so shows something is mysterious in the appointment. There are already complaints about sanctioning of illegal posts and alteration of date of retirement of some people. Through this, reservation process is being sabotaged,” he alleged. Mr. Hameed said that he would meet the Chancellor this month. The IUML MLA added that he would raise the issue in the Legislative Assembly and also seek legal recourse.
Mr. Hameed had written to the Chancellor seeking a probe into the appointment. He had alleged that the above-mentioned Syndicate member was also part of the Syndicate sub-committee that supervised the criteria for appointment of Associate Professors.
