शिमला। भाजपा व कांग्रेस के नेताओं,उनकी बीवियों और कार्यकर्ताओं के लिए नौकरियां देने का अडडा बना प्रदेश विवि एक बार फिर सुर्खियों में आ गया है।आरएसएस पृष्ठभूमि के नव निुयक्त गर्वनर आचार्य देव व्रत के समक्ष वामपंथी पार्टी माकपा ने 2011 से भाजपा की पूर्व धूमल सरकार से लेकर 2015 में वीरभद्र सरकार के कार्यकाल तक विवि में भाजपा व कांग्रेस के कार्यकर्ताओं को किस तरह नौकरियां बांटी गई हैं, इसका खुलासा किया है।
माकपा नेता टिकेंद्र पंवर, कुलदीप सिंह तंवर,विजेंद्र मेहरा और फालमा चौहान ने आज राजभवन जाकर गवर्नर आचार्य देवव्रत को एक ज्ञापन सौंप कर विवि में मेरिट को दरकिनार कर नौकरियां देने के वीसी एडीएन वाजपेयी के कारनामों का खुलासा किया है। कांग्रेस व भाजपा में अपने राजनीतिक रसूख के लिए मशहूर वीसी वाजपेयी को माकपा ने तुरंत वीसी पद से बर्खास्त करने और 2011 से लेकर अब तक सभी नियुक्तियोंकी जांच विजीलेंस से कराने की मांग की है। यही नहींमाकपा ने राज्यपाल से इन सभी नियुक्तियों व नियुक्त प्रक्रियाओं को रदद करने की मांग भी की है।माकपा ने कहा कि विवि में पालिटिक्ल एक्टिस्टिस की नियुक्तियां की जाती रही है व ये सिलसिला अभी जारी है।जो मेरिटोरियस हें,उन्हें इंटरव्यू तक के लिए नहीं बुलाया जा रहा है।
माकपा के इन नेताओं में टिकेंद्र पंवर, विजेंदर मेहरा और फालमा चौहान अपने जमाने में विवि में एसएफआई सक्रिय नेता रह चुके है,वो तब इस तरह नियुक्तियों के खिलाफ आवाज उठाते रहें हैं। माकपा ने नियुक्तियों में राजनीतिक क्रप्शन ही नहीं वितीय क्रप्शन की ओर भी इशारा किया है। अब राज्यपाल इस मेमोरेंडम पर क्या रुख अपनाते है,ये अलग मामला है। राज्यपाल ने इससे पहले विवि में बीते दिनों विभिन्न पदों के लिए हुए इंटरव्यू की फाइल को अपने पास मंगवा रखा है।विवि में इस समय 60 प्रतिशत से ज्यादा अध्यापकों के पद खाली है। विवि का स्तर आंगनवाड़ी के स्तर तक पहुंचा दिया है।
राज्यपाल को इस मेमोरेंडम में माकपा ने क्या सुलासा किया है ये जानने के लिए यहां पढ़े पूरा मेमोरेंडम-:
His Excellency Dr. Acharya Dev Vrat ji
Governor of Himachal Pradesh
Shimla, HP – 171002
Memorandum: On backdoor and bypassing academic essentials for recruitments in HP University, Shimla
Dated: 19/08/2015.
His Excellency,
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) extends you a very warm welcome as Governor of Hill State of Himachal Pradesh.
We are submitting a memorandum to your good self in the capacity of Chancellor of Himachal Pradesh University on the subject of recruitment of teaching faculty in Himachal Pradesh University. Our view point is that since long there have been gross irregularities in the appointment of teachers in various departments of the University. The incumbent Vice-Chancellor has given special momentum to commit such irregularities in a most brazen manner surpassing what his predecessors did.
A point-wise outline of some of these has been listed below:
- Against the advertisements No. 1/2010 and 3/2010 interviews were held on 23 and 24 September only for Education Department. The norms laid down by the University Grants Commission were not properly followed in short listing of the candidates. ‘Suitable’ candidates were screened to increase the Academic Performance Index (API) of the ‘to be selected’ candidates by inflating and also by considering fraud publications or books. The screening and the selection committees considered that without any verification. Many qualified candidates were not considered even at the screening stage. Meritorious candidates who could cross the screening stage for interviews were awarded just 7-8 marks out of 20. One of the ‘selected’ candidates did not only submit fake ‘book’ to enhance his API score, he also has third division in three main qualifying examinations. In these cases the screening and selection committees did not consider the then prevalent B+ Formula to draw merit of the candidates. Another candidate who at the time of screening was not awarded PhD degree, and was shown as such in the API score sheet, was considered to be PhD.
- In another but similar case, earlier in 2010, a candidate who was at position 39 of the tally sheet score of API, was awarded 19 marks and selected as Assistant Professor in Physical Education while the candidate who was at position 3 was awarded very low marks to oust him from competing.
- In follow up to the advertisement No. 1/2011 and 3/2011 interviews were held for different positions in the Departments of Bio-Sciences, Tourism, Music, Hindi, Mathematics, Visual Arts, etc. These interviews were held under the Chairmanship of the incumbent Vice-Chancellor. Again, the screening and the selection committees brazenly violated the UGC norms by short listing the candidates without having qualifying the National Eligibility Test/State Eligibility Test or Ph.D. under the UGC Regulation of 2009. Even candidates having only M.Phil degree were also called for interview. Not only that many eligible candidates were not called for interview on arbitrary pretexts.
- Out of the 35 candidates interviewed for the post of Assistant Professors as discussed under Sr. No. 3, one candidate was interviewed without having experts in the Selection Committee.
- Under the recruitment process listed at Sr. No. 3 the norms were not followed for the selection of Professors. One candidate who was interviewed in the Department of Mathematics did not have the requisite qualification of having API score of 400. Other candidate in the Department of Biosciences did not possess the requisite length of service as desirable under the promotion rules. The selection process was challenged in the Hon’ble High Court of Himachal Pradesh by different parties. One of those is Sanghya Ram v/s H.P. University (CWP No. 6479 of 2011) wherein the petitioner had challenged the roaster system as it is frequent practice in the University to usurp the reservation seats meant for the candidates belonging to the Scheduled Caste and Schedules Tribes. Similarly, differently abled persons have been appointed from outside the State defying the rules.
- H P University conducted interviews in July 2015 for the teaching posts against the advertisement on 1/2014 on 8th September 2014. Total 227 vacancies with break-up of Professor (38), Associate Professor (68) and Assistant Professor (121). This advertisement was made candidate-specific by insertion of a clause that there should be a research experience of five years for the post of Assistant Professor in the Department of Life Long Learning in the subject of Economics. For the posts of Assistant Professor in other two subjects, Psychology and Sociology, in the same Department, no such rider or experience was required. So, the whole exercise was to adjust a ‘suitable candidate’. The other aspect of this violation is again weird. Total five candidates were interviewed for the post of Assistant Professor in Economics, and out of five only one had the desirable experience. Not only did the University frame the rules to accommodate a special candidate, the University also interviewed candidates who did not possess the research experience. In the same advertisement to accommodate a ‘suitable candidate’ as Assistant Professor in the Department of Visual Arts, a post of Assistant Professor was shifted from Public Administration. Interview for this post has not been held so far as interviews were held only in the Department of Economics, Hindi, Social Work, Sociology and Sanskrit.
- More serious violations have been made by violating the UGC norms under the advertisement No. 1/2014 dated 8th September 2014. This advertisement violates the UGC norms that candidate must be NET qualified to be eligible for the post of Assistant Professor. This advertisement also violates the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India as laid down in the CWP of P. Sushila etc., v/s. UGC, New Delhi, etc.
- It is utterly intriguing that the University discussed and decided to abide by the above-cited judgment stated at Sr. No. 7 above in the Executive Council meeting held on 29/4/2015 and later retracted in a meeting held on May 22, 2015 that the University is not bound or guided by this judgment.
- There is again serious contradiction how the University is violating the UGC rules. The process of interview as discussed under Sr. No. 3, were held in 2011 and Himachal Pradesh was ruled by the BJP Government. The outcome of the interviews was challenged in the Hon’ble High Court by some petitioners. Congress Government is in place from December 2012. University took a summersault and strongly contested the case saying that the interviews were held by violation of the UGC rules and should be quashed right away. Needless to say that the selected candidates were mostly BJP cadres and it is not a secret any more. Also, the University spent lot of public money to contest the case. Now it is other way round. Congress Party wanted to push for its own candidates and it forced the University not only to adhere to the same rules which it contested in the Hon’ble High Court of Himachal Pradesh, but went a step ahead by insertion of special clauses such as research experience, etc., to make its cadre selected. In the process University not only violated UGC Guidelines but also the judgment of Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.
10. Apart from the recruitment at the Assistant Professor level there are numerous instances where promotions have been awarded to candidates who were not eligible either on the basis of service length or not fulfilling the minimum API score.
We have to submit that:
- The whole process of recruitment to the academic positions has been reduced to a farce. It is a political game between the ruling party and the party which was in power the last time. It is more so under the present Vice-Chancellor who has been the key player in 2011 as well as in 2014-15. However, there are the following serious repercussions for the academic, public good and social justice.
- It goes without emphasizing that over the years the appointments of the political activists of these two parties in the University have led to serious deterioration of the teaching and research standards of the University.
- Himachal Pradesh University has very good track record of candidates who qualify NET. The number of total NET qualified candidates per year is among the top few Universities in India. Recruitment of unqualified candidates is debarring these qualified candidates from getting the jobs they are better equipped and qualified.
- One serious repercussion is denial of social justice to candidates belonging to the SC/ST/OBC categories as many seats meant for them have been usurped by the political favourites.
- Apart from the political corruption, there have been also instances of financial corruption in the recruitment process.
- Also, such lawlessness is detrimental to the very existence of the University.
We humbly seek following action from His Excellency:
- The incumbent Vice-Chancellor Professor A.D.N. Bajpai is sacked immediately and all the recruitment and promotions made under his tenure are investigated by the State Vigilance Department.
- All the interviews held in 2011 and 2015 be declared null and void.
- University should be asked to re-advertise and fill up all the vacant teaching positions at the earliest by sticking to the latest UGC Guidelines and Hon’ble Supreme Court judgment as cited above. As a one time settlement a commission should be constituted to appoint these teachers and the VC should be kept out of the entire process.
- To reduce the incidence of favoritism we suggest that apart from the minimum eligibility criteria set by the UGC, and as stated under the preceding point, total 100 marks should be set to evaluate the suitability of a candidate and the same should be divided as 80 for academic career (taking the best out of the three examinations and other indicators as defined under API) and the personal interview should be of 20 marks and at least minimum 50% be awarded to all the candidates.
- Seats reserved for the socially disadvantageous groups as per the University roaster be restored to the deserving candidates.
( Tikender Singh panwar) (Dr kuldeep Singh Tanwar) (Vijender Mehra) (Falma Chauhan)
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