Relief for Cusat teachers as Kerala government withdraws order on financial burden of appointments

The status quo earlier to the order shall prevail. The government order issued on February 4 said that all financial commitments (including salary and pension) should be met from the internal revenue of Cusat’s School of Engineering

A view of Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT).

The Kerala government has withdrawn the order that stated that it would not bear the financial burden arising out of the appointment of nearly 102 faculty members and 67 non-teaching staffers at the School of Engineering of the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat).

An order issued by the Department of Higher Education on August 9 said that it has withdrawn the order with immediate effect. The status quo earlier to the order shall prevail, it said. The order issued on February 4 said that all financial commitments (including salary and pension) should be met from the internal revenue of the School of Engineering.

Self-financing schools

However, the government had ratified the university Registrar's decision to open self-financing schools without the State's concurrence and create 102 teaching and 67 non-teaching posts. Since the School of Engineering remains a self-financing institution (a separate entity), staff selection has to be done separately. Periodic hike in fee should be effected as it is done in other self-financing engineering colleges. The present practice of maintaining separate accounts for these schools should continue, it said.

Vice Chancellor K. N. Madhusoodanan welcomed the government decision to withdraw the order issued on February 4. “We will submit a request again before the government to give concurrence to the appointments. The varsity hopes that the government will provide non-plan grant to meet the financial requirements arising out of the appointments,” he said.

The faculty members, who had approached the Kerala High Court against the February 4 order, pointed out that their appointments were made exactly in the same manner as in the case of other teaching posts at the university. The promotion of teachers was also effected in accordance with the guidelines of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

The teachers said that the School of Engineering was started under the Cusat Act, 1986 as a constituent organisation of the varsity and not as a self-financing institution. The appointments were made from the common pool of teachers and by adhering to the communal rotation register for appointment of permanent/regular teachers, they said.