Angry students who are part of the Kerala Students Union (KSU) and youth activists alleging favouritism and violation of all norms, launched a protest on Monday over the appointment of Poornima Mohan in the Malayalam Lexicon department at the Kerala University. She is the wife of R Mohanan, who is Officer on Special Duty at the office of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
On Monday morning, the protesters broke into her room and shouted slogans. A helpless Poornima said she had done no wrong, and she had applied for the deputation post after seeing the notification. "I was called for the interview and I got the job. I have done no wrong," said Poornima amidst the shouting of slogans.
She told Media One that those who were protesting her appointment were not considering her education or individuality but seeing her only as someone’s wife. The protestors had no idea about her qualifications or her experience, she said.
Poornima added that she has been teaching students in Kerala for 25 years and has translated books in Malayalam, and asked if she should prove all this to the students after an interview board had selected her.
Watch: KSU members protesting in Poornima’s office
The issue surfaced after the 'Save University Campaign Committee' complained to Governor Arif Mohammed Khan that Poornima was a Sanskrit teacher with the Kalady Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, who was appointed the editor of the Malayalam Lexicon, which was in total violation of qualification guidelines.
The complaint asks how a Sanskrit teacher can be appointed after ignoring qualified Malayalam professors of the university, which they say is against the statute of the university, as only persons proficient in the language are eligible.
But the Kerala University, however, has pointed out that the appointment was made by a selection committee of experts.
Those who sat in this chair in the past include scholars in Malayalam like Sooranad Kunjan Pillai, BC Balakrishnan and P Somasekaran Nair.
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(With IANS input)
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