Outsiders stir up a row in UoH

A storm is silently, but steadily, gathering in the portals of the University of Hyderabad (UoH), which has been in the news recently for achieving excellence in several classifications. Contrary to apprehensions there is no student unrest. The ‘likely to flare-up’ situation is tangible and exists within the faculty because of acts of omissions and commissions in appointments that smack of favouritism and utter disregard for the Rule Book, particularly pertaining to eligible ‘desi’ and ineligible ‘outsider’ factors.

This goes way beyond the latest finding that the belongings in a woman faculty member’s quarters were thrown asunder by ‘outside’ elements. Monday’s proposed dharna by the teachers is just a tip of the iceberg. As it is, the campus is in the midst of a dicey situation because of the manner four foreign ‘nationals’ have landed up with plum posts that are getting elevated to ‘permanent’ basis from the otherwise ‘contract’ restricted employment.

The four faculty members claimed Indian nationality in the job applications although three enjoy American citizenship while the fourth is an Australian. According to information obtained by the Right to Information Act, 2005, Dr S Naresh Babu, Reader in Biochemistry, Dr T Sarada Devi, Reader in Plant Sciences and Dr Mahadev Kalyankar, Reader in Medical Sciences have US citizenship while Dr Vineet C P Nair, a Lecturer in Computer & Information Sciences, has Australian citizenship.

Although, a fifth faculty member, Dr Jagan Pongubala, is an American citizen, he has mentioned his real nationality. All these appointments were made between 2007 and 2010. The local faculty members are livid that although there was no restriction on meritorious ‘non-local’ candidates getting contract-basis employment, efforts were underway to enhance the position of the five ‘outsiders’ to the permanent category, despite the absence of such a provision, according to some permanent members.

The first signs of rebellion came almost a year back. Information with regard to the status of their appointment was furnished with the Union HRD Ministry more than a year ago. In a letter written by Registrar to Ministry of HRD in June 2014, it was clearly mentioned that the University had noticed that in spite of having Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI), they were on the verge of getting ‘permanent’ postings.

This contradicts the stated provisions under the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) guidelines, which mandates that “appointment of non-Indians to civil posts under the Government of India should be made only in very exceptional circumstances for short periods, in fields where Indian experts are not available. Such appointments would be on contract.” The letter also mentions that the UGC rule position regarding the Central Universities is that such individuals can only be employed for a short period.

The other regular local members opine that this unethical trend was a clear violation of UGC norms. Some of the more vociferous have taken the fight to the management questioning the legitimacy of such appointments, which they termed were ‘questionable and dubious.’ “Is it that the entire country does not have qualified professionals to take these positions in the University,” asks a faculty, on condition of anonymity.

According to the latest developments, the infuriated local faculty members are not only readying for a no-holds-barred battle but are also contemplating to approach the court for effective remedial measures so as to uphold the integrity of the institution. Meanwhile, the Vice-Chancellor R P Sharma explained that when it came to the knowledge of the University last year, they had shot off a missive to the Union HRD Ministry. As things stand, the Centre is yet to respond the letter.

“If the University had the information, we would have acted then. We are waiting for Ministry’s nod. This is a case where University was in the dark for a long time,” he said. Giving an insight into the flawed recruitment process, he claimed that the advertisement calling for applications had failed to mention that it was only for Indian Citizens. When these candidates applied, this point was not included. The criterion was eligibility on the basis of certificates.

After they joined the University, a debate on whether they were eligible or not began and gathered momentum. “Certificates were verified but not passports, which the University had never ever sought. I feel this clause has to be incorporated in future recruitments,” he pointed out. As things stands, there are apprehensions that unless resolved and the house is put in order at the earliest, the volatile situation could malign the goodwill the institution has earned over the years, particularly if the teachers take to the streets demanding implementation of a transparent and unbiased recruitment policy.

By Md Nizamuddin