Last Update: January 12, 2023, 16:38 IST
Thiruvananthapuram, India
Varghese’s appointment has been an issue raised by the opposition as well as Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan (file photo)
The Kerala High Court order on November 17 also states that Dr Priya Varghese does not have the required teaching experience which is one of the main criteria for the post.
Dr. Priya Varghese has approached the Kerala High Court against the single bench order which asked Kannur University to review the rank list according to which she was appointed as Associate Professor in the Department of Malayalam in the University .
She is the wife of KK Ragesh, Private Secretary to the Chief Minister. He is a former CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member who hails from Kannur and is considered a close aide of CM Vijayan. Varghese’s appointment has been an issue that has been raised by the opposition as well as Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan.
The High Court order on November 17 also states that Dr Priya Varghese does not have the required teaching experience which is one of the main criteria for the post. Pronouncing the order, Justice Declan Ramachandran also asked the university whether it was eligible to be included in the list. The Court also observed that it is not correct that the Scrutiny Committee has accepted his application and credentials as it is against UGC Rules 3.11.
Read this also Kerala government defends Kannur University’s move to appoint Priya Varghese as associate professor
the court said earlier Varghese had no merit To be considered for the post of Associate Professor in the Department of Malayalam, Kannur University. It pointed out that the inquiry committee failed to find that he did not have the required qualification. Noting that all UGC guidelines were violated and the court cannot ignore it, the court asked Kannur University to re-think the rank list and come out with a fresh list.
Earlier, the University Grants Commission (UGC) informed the Kerala High Court that Varghese did not take three years leave to pursue PhD will be counted as teaching experience. In June, the Kannur University had approved Varghese’s appointment but has not issued the appointment letter till date. An RTI application revealed that the sub was not above board. The RTI query revealed that she scored the maximum marks (32 out of 50) in the personal interview, while runner-up Jacob Skarayya scored 30, but her research score was just 156, while the second-placed candidate Scored 651 marks. However, on the basis of personal interview, he got first position. Skaraiya approached the High Court saying that he had been sidelined.
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