HYDERABAD, WARANGAL: The state government has ordered a Vigilance and Enforcement (V&E) department probe against Kakatiya University Vice-Chancellor Prof Thatikonda Ramesh. The principal secretary of the education department, Burra Venkatesham, wrote to the director general of the V&E department on Saturday, asking for an enquiry into the allegations made by faculty members against the V-C of illegally ordering transfers, unlawfully retaining terminated faculty members, making unfair academic appointments and approving fake projects.
The faculty members of the university have also alleged that the V-C manipulated the system of transfers of professors and did not follow the guidelines set by the government for hiring academicians.
It has come to light that, contrary to the UGC norms, 16 retired professors were appointed as adjunct faculty. Moreover, the V-C did not allegedly adhere to the minimum qualifications required while admitting candidates into PhD programmes and filled the admissions for postgraduate courses without adhering to UGC guidelines.
Allegations were also made against the V-C regarding contract work allocated by him to his loyalists in exchange for bribes and that he discriminated against women in the recruitment process.
Meanwhile, the general secretary of Kakatiya University Teachers Association, Prof Dr Estari Mamidala, said that as per UGC norms, for a V-C to be appointed, a professor must have at least 10 years of experience.
However, the previous BRS government appointed Prof Thatikonda as the V-C even though he did not have a decade of experience, he added.
The general secretary alleged that teachers, students and non-teaching employees have faced various problems due to the rule of an “unqualified” V-C.