CHENNAI : Holding that a full-time teaching staff cannot pursue a full-time course of study, the Madras High Court has confirmed the orders of the Controller of Examinations of Anna University cancelling the examinations in which a faculty member of S A Polytechnic College had appeared.A teacher/professor cannot be permitted to do the full-time course without obtaining prior permission from the university/college, Justice S Vaidyanathan observed while dismissing a writ petition from P Shanmugavalli, last week.
The university/institution and the recognition authorities must ensure that no teacher/professor is permitted to do full-time course without obtaining prior permission from the university/college concerned. Otherwise, the same will send a wrong signal, the judge said.The existing practice of allowing a student to be a professor for the purpose of showing faculty strength and getting approval/recognition from AICTE and simultaneously allow them to study full time course, should be deprecated, the judge added.
Petitioner got admission in ME two year course in Anna University for 2014-2016 academic year. Meanwhile, she got employment as a lecturer in ME in S A Polytechnic College. She applied for leave to study the ME course and the college where she was working granted leave by an order dated February 28, 2015.
Following complaints, the university issued a show cause notice on May 19, 2015. Meanwhile, she had written all the four semester exams. However, the Controller of Examinations, by proceedings dated April 23, 2017 cancelled all the examinations written by the petitioner. Hence, the present writ petition.
Dismissing it, the judge observed that a person, who is a full time faculty member, cannot at the same time, pursue a full-time degree course.