KOTTAYAM: The issue of terminating as many as 500 teaching and non-teaching staff from the self-financing institutions under Mahatma Gandhi University took a new turn on Wednesday with a meeting of the university Syndicate recommending to the government to conduct a Vigilance inquiry into various discrepancies over the appointment of these employees.
The meeting resolved to recommend to the government to direct the director of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to conduct a detailed inquiry into the suspected elements of corruption, financial irregularities and misappropriation of public fund in the appointment of teaching and non-teaching staff in the self-financing institutions under the university since its inception. Interestingly, the decision came after the entire self-financing institutions under the university were handed over to a newly constituted educational society, Center for Professional and Advanced Studies (CPAS), under the state government.
Moreover, the university, on July 13, had discontinued the services of these employees, as part of completing the procedural formalities for these employees to join CPAS.
At the same time, the university had also entrusted a sub-committee to conduct a detailed study into various allegations, including undeserved ones getting recruited into these institutions and they being given UGC recommended scale of pay, issues with the appointment of guest lecturers, and service classification of the recruited employees. The committee will also probe the allegations those who were appointed on contract basis were given salary even after the expiry of the contract period.
Meanwhile, the employees said the inquiry was initiated when the Supreme Court issued a directive to implement an earlier decision of the state government to give UGC scale of pay for teaching staff in these organisations with effect from 2012. “The Supreme Court had recently issued a directive to give scale of pay for as many as 54 employees, which would fetch a burden of `16 crore for the university. This apart, as many as 312 teachers in these organisations are planning to move the court demanding UGC scale. If they get an order in their favour order, the university will have to face an additional burden of `93 crore,” said an employee.“The authorities’ move for a Vigilance inquiry is only to prevent other teachers from approaching the court,” the employee said.