KOZHIKODE: Works Minister G Sudhakaran’s wife Jubily Navaprabha’s stepping down from a contractual post in the University of Kerala may have been aimed at bringing the curtains down on the controversy surrounding it. However, questions still remain on the mysterious way in which the university Syndicate orchestrated the move to convert the contractual post of Director of Management, Technology and Teacher Education (DOMTEC) into a statutory one. The decision to make the post statutory was taken at the Syndicate meeting held in September. It was only by the end of last month the minutes of the meeting officially came out.
‘Express’ has a copy of the minutes of the Syndicate meeting which made the controversial recommendation. It was cleverly clubbed with another proposal to avoid notice at first glance.
It needs to be remembered the current Syndicate comprises only 12 members --- all of whom nominated by the LDF Government. Moreover, the Syndicate decision was taken at a time when the University did not have a full-time vice-chancellor, prompting many to suspect foul play.
“Those close to the minister say certain Syndicate members had gone ahead and made the recommendation on their own. This seems highly unlikely as all members are Left-affiliated and would not have acted without concurrence of their political bosses.
Also, the timing of the decision --- when there was no fulltime vice-chancellor --- could be suspected as an attempt to avoid official scrutiny,” said KU former Syndicate member R S Sasikumar. It was Sasikumar who petitioned the Chancellor (Governor) against the Syndicate move.
The controversy surrounding the DOMTEC post is not new. Six months ago, when the KU Syndicate proposed creating the post, many saw it as an attempt to ensure better administration of self-financing courses under the university. However, certain ‘watered-down’ clauses in the eligibility criteria for the post raised quite a few eyebrows.
When the minister’s wife was selected for the post, questions were raised about the selection process. Protests by student outfits against the appointment were also ignored. But the latest move, which would have incurred an additional financial burden of `16 lakh per annum if implemented, was too big to be ignored.
The question now remains is: Will Syndicate members, who orchestrated the move, come clean on the matter?