THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has taken serious note of the irregularities in connection with the appointment of Priya Varghese, wife of chief minister’s private secretary K K Ragesh, as associate professor in the Malayalam department of the university.According to a source in the Raj Bhavan, the governor is of the view that serious irregularities have been committed in connection with the appointment which was also marred by charges of favouritism.
Khan had sought a report from Gopinath Ravindran, vice-chancellor of Kannur University on the controversial appointment.“The vice-chancellor was given 10 days to submit an explanation. If the explanation is not found to be satisfactory, the governor is contemplating strict action against the official,” said the source.
The Save University Campaign Committee, a whistleblower’s collective, had approached the governor with a petition that the interview board in Kannur University had sidelined three senior professors who had better qualifications and experiences than Priya Varghese who had only three years of teaching experience.