The Calicut University Employees’ Union, a Left-aligned organisation, observed a protest on Monday against Governor Arif Mohammed Khan’s decision, in his capacity as the Chancellor of State universities, to terminate the services of Calicut varsity Vice Chancellor M.K. Jayaraj and Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit Vice Chancellor M.V. Narayanan.
It was part of a State-wide protest called by the Confederation of University Employees Organisations, Kerala. Functionaries of the union and the confederation alleged that the Chancellor’s move was part of the Sangh Parivar agenda. They claimed that the reasons cited for the action against Mr. Jayaraj and Mr. Narayanan defied logic as they had all the qualifications mandated by university acts and statutes as well as the regulations of the University Grants Commission (UGC).
In Mr. Jayaraj’s case, the Chancellor’s argument was that Tom Jose, former Chief Secretary and one of the members of the search-cum-selection committee, was not an academic expert and that the government had proposed his name to be included in the panel. The employees’ union leaders said that Mr. Jose had been Principal Secretary, Higher Education, and was in charge of the University of Calicut for some time. Moreover, it was the Chancellor himself who had proposed to include his name in the search panel, they said. It is learnt that Mr. Jayaraj is planning to challenge the Chancellor’s decision in the High Court. The Chancellor had given him 10 days from March 7 to file an appeal in the court.
