The proposal to appoint Priya Varghese, wife of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s personal secretary K.K. Ragesh, as Associate Professor in Kannur University is learnt to be having a spill over effect on the recruitment in the Department of Malayalam at the University of Calicut.
Joseph Skariah, Assistant Professor, Department of Malayalam, St. Berchman’s College, Changanassery, who moved the Kerala High Court questioning Ms. Varghese’s qualifications, was proposed to be appointed in Calicut University, though his application allegedly violated the criteria for appearing in the interview. This was alleged by C.J. George, another applicant for the post of Professor in the University of Calicut, in a letter to Vice Chancellor M.K. Jayaraj and the Syndicate. The interview was held in January.
Mr. George, a veteran academic who has taught in various government colleges, has demanded that the selection board be reconstituted and the interview held afresh. He claimed that one member in the existing board had conspired to stall his appointment, though he was well qualified for the post. Though the rank list for the post had not been made public, it was reported in the media that the Vice Chancellor had proposed to appoint him at a meeting of the Syndicate held on August 11. It was also reported that the proposal had to be dropped following strong opposition from Left-leaning members of the Syndicate. A section of the media had reported that the effort was to “accommodate” Mr. Skariah in Calicut University, so that he backed off from the case related to Kannur University.
Mr. George pointed out that Mr. Skariah’s application had been rejected earlier by the screening committee. He appeared for the interview after securing a favourable order from the Kerala High Court. According to Mr. George, he was far ahead of other candidates in the interview in terms of qualifications prescribed for the post by the University of Calicut. However, his candidature was rejected on technical grounds. Mr. George alleged that one member was adamant that he did not get the job. He has also impleaded in a case related to the appointment in the High Court filed by another applicant.
