DNA: Pune: Saturday, March 31, 2012.
Information obtained by an activist under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, has revealed that the Deccan College threw the rule book out of the window, while re-appointing its registrar and appointing three readers and professors in 2010.
RTI activist Iqbal Ansari had sought information about recruitments at Deccan College after receiving complaints from candidates, who were rejected despite being eligible for the post.
Interestingly, the information given to him reveals that one of the selection committee members had written a dissent note at the time of the recruitment that if the college authorities wanted to appoint persons of their own choices and contribute new meanings to terms, then they should not have called the experts.
Ansari alleges that the college concealed this dissent note from the higher education department authorities. “The college authorities did not provide us with any information under the RTI.
Finally, we filed an RTI application with the University Grants Commission (UGC) and got to know that as per UGC rules, re-appointment for non-academic posts cannot be done,” he said.
“The college has re-appointed NS Gaware for a period of one year. Gaware retired on August 31, 2011. In reply to the query, the UGC said that there is no provision under the UGC rules to re-employ the registrar in any state or deemed or central universities. The UGC regulations are mandatory in nature and cannot be overlooked.”
College director VP Bhatt said, “Gaware’s re-appointment is legal, as per rule no. 6 C viii and 17 C xii of Deccan College Rules 2000.” We are paying his salary from our funds and not from the UGC’s, Bhatt added.
As per the by-law of the college, such appointments can be made only when there is an emergency. Bhatt said, “There were many welfare schemes for the staff and students and it was necessary to re-appoint him to implement them.”
Similarly, the selection committee member, in his dissent note, had said, “Candidates who were not eligible for the post of professor were made professors.”
Bhatt supported these appointments saying that the selection committee is the recommending committee and not the appointing committee.
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