The Calicut University Teachers Association (CUTA), a pro-Congress organisation, has condemned the university Syndicate’s decision to suspend G. Radhakrishna Pillai, Assistant Professor, Department of Life Sciences.
T.M. Vasudevan, president, CUTA, said in a statement on Wednesday that it was part of an ongoing effort by the university administration to harass faculty members who did not subscribe to the left-leaning teachers’ organisation or the CPI(M). Claiming that Mr. Pillai was an outstanding researcher and teacher with rich international experience, he said the suspension should not be dealt with lightly, as the former was close to retirement.
“Usually, suspension is a provision invoked in cases of criminal misconduct where the continuation of the teacher hinders the process of an ongoing inquiry or causes serious problems to a section of the campus community. There is no such issue here,” Mr. Vasudevan said.
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He pointed out that Mr. Pillai had been a faculty member of the university for years and had a U.K. passport as well as an Overseas Citizenship of India. No rules framed by Parliament prohibit him from working in the university. It is learnt that he had informed the university about it earlier itself, and that there had been no objection then. At a time when he has only less than two years of service, he is being suspended citing the citizenship issue. It is just an effort to humiliate him, Mr. Vasudevan alleged.