A group of applicants for the post of Vice-Chancellor of Bangalore University has urged the Karnataka government to scrap the current shortlist of candidates, alleging that one of those selected does not meet the prescribed eligibility criteria.
In a representation dated July 7, the applicants challenged the shortlist released by the Search Committee on July 4, calling the selection process arbitrary and in violation of the government’s notification inviting applications.
The term of the incumbent Vice-Chancellor, Dr Jayakara Shetty M, ends on July 10.
The applicants alleged that one of the shortlisted candidates, Dr Jaganatha Reddy H N, Principal of Bangalore Institute of Technology (BIT), does not fulfil the requirement of having at least 10 years of experience as a Professor in a University. They argued that BIT is an autonomous private engineering college, not a University, and therefore his tenure there cannot be counted towards the eligibility criterion.
The Karnataka government’s June 13 notification inviting applications for the post stated that candidates must be distinguished academicians with at least 10 years’ experience as a Professor in a University or possess equivalent experience in a reputed research or academic administrative organisation, along with demonstrated academic leadership.
Describing the shortlisting process as “arbitrary and contrary” to the prescribed norms, the applicants urged the Chancellor to reject the existing panel and direct the Search Committee to conduct a fresh shortlisting exercise in accordance with the notification.
The controversy comes amid earlier scrutiny of some shortlisted candidates. According to a report by Deccan Herald, Jaganatha Reddy served as Registrar (Evaluation) at Bangalore University when the marks-tampering scam surfaced. He was reportedly summoned by the CID during the investigation, while the university withdrew the results of 804 students whose marks were allegedly manipulated. Another shortlisted candidate, Shivaraj C, had also faced scrutiny over the retrospective award of a contract for scanning answer scripts without inviting tenders.
This article was written by a student interning with TNM.