The English and Foreign Languages University Teachers’ Association (EFLUTA) has opposed its administration’s recent proposal to transfer its employees at their discretion to other centres of the university in the country.
Apart from Hyderabad centre, the university has two other centres in Shillong and Lucknow, with Hyderabad centre being the headquarters. The transfer policy, which was ratified in a executive committee meeting held on November 21, has formulated that employees are transferable.
Speaking to newsmen here on Friday, EFLUTA president Dr Bhangya Bhukya said the policy does not subscribe to any statutory norms based on which the appointments were made. ‘’When the notifications for the recruitment were made, it was clearly defined that they are place specific. There was no mention of transfer policy then. Further, no other institutions with multiple centres, like IITs or IIMs, have this kind of transfer policy,” he said.
“No serious researcher would want to be associated with a varsity which has a transfer policy. As teaching jobs are supposed to be stable, candidates will apply for universities where there is no transfer policy,’’ he said.
‘’This is a research institution where faculty and students develop a rapport, over a period of time, to bring out good research. The new change will also prevent new faculty members from joining the institution as their careers will be uncertain. The whole process was done in a secretive manner,’’ said Dr Sherin, vice-president EFLUTA. ‘’The entire process was done in dubious manner when the faculty here are out on vacation. Besides, two-thirds of the university staff have opposed this policy by way of a signature campaign,” she said.
This is a research institution where a research programme is built over a period of time after the faculty members becomes acquainted with the place and the university’s functioning. It is not in the best of interest to adopt transfer policy, said Dr Indranil Dutta of EFLUTA. ‘’This kind of equating administration with the academics will hamper the research quality,” he said.