The appointment of Priya Varghese, wife of Chief Minister’s private secretary K.K. Ragesh, as associate professor in Malayalam at Kannur University remains embroiled in a controversy with the emergence of more documents that raise further questions on the process.
Citing information obtained under the Right to Information Act, Save University Campaign Committee (SUCC) chairman R.S. Sasikumar and convener M. Shajarkhan wrote to the Chancellor alleging malpractices in the selection process.
Kannur University apparently disclosed information pertaining to the candidates’ research scores and the marks obtained by them during the interview. Among the six applicants, Ms. Varghese had the least research score of 156. She emerged first in the selection process after securing 32 marks (out of 50) in the interview round.
The second rank holder Joseph Skariah, assistant professor and head of the Malayalam department in SB College, Changanassery, secured a research score of 651 and 30 marks for interview. C. Ganesh, assistant professor in Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University, who came third, had 645 research score and 28 marks for interview.
The research score is calculated in accordance with the UGC Regulations on Minimum Qualification for Appointment of Teachers and Other Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education, 2018.
Highlighting the significant margin between the research scores of Ms. Varghese and the others, the SUCC accused the Vice Chancellor of Kannur University and the selection committee of having decided to award her the top rank among the applicants before initiating the appointment process.
