A day after the Kerala High Court allowed a petition against the proposed appointment of a Malayalam associate professor, Kannur University on Friday, November 18, claimed that all procedures mandated by the University Grants Commission (UGC) had been followed in the selection process. Officials indicated that the varsity would not appeal the High Court’s decision. While allowing the petition, the HC said that the candidate, Priya Varghese, did not have the relevant period of actual teaching experience as stipulated under the UGC regulations of 2018.
Kannur University Vice-Chancellor Gopinath Ravindran said a legal opinion was sought before the selection of Priya Varghese, wife of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's private secretary KK Ragesh, to the faculty post. Though a clarification was sought from the UGC regarding her qualification, no reply was received till date. If the apex academic body had given a reply to his letter, the issue would not have become worse, he told reporters in Kannur.
In the case of Priya’s proposed appointment, the High Court had said that she did not have the relevant period of actual teaching experience as stipulated by the UGC. The court had said that her periods of service as National Service Scheme (NSS) Coordinator or Director of Student Services (DSS) in Kannur University and time spent engaged in research would go towards her promotion and growth as a good teacher, “but that by itself would not be sufficient in the absence of requisite experience in teaching”.
VC Gopinath Ravindran said that further action on the High Court verdict would be decided after receiving the copy of the detailed judgement. When asked whether the varsity would go for appeal against the present verdict, he replied in the negative, citing high costs in the case of a legal battle. However, he added that further action by the university, if any, would be decided upon receiving a copy of the judgement.
Ravindran said that the verdict would have a far-reaching impact in the academic field and would be a setback to the faculty who go for research under FDP.
Meanwhile, the officials indicated that the rank list would be reviewed as directed by the court and those coming in the first three positions would be considered for the post.
Priya Varghese's proposed appointment had triggered a huge political row as she had the lowest research score but the highest in the interview round and was declared first in the selection process, raising allegations of nepotism by the ruling LDF government in Kerala.