Kashmir Reader: Srinagar: Sunday, April 27, 2014.
Against the
backdrop of wasting huge sums on an illegal appointment, there have been
regular reports from the University about inadequate facilities at MERC. The
University has a stock justification for this: lack of resources.
Students of
MERC spoke to Kashmir Reader about how their repeated requests for providing
better training facilities and equipment are always brushed aside for supposed
want of funds.
In a recent
incident, students said they were literally made to beg for funds for an
academic tour outside the state, which is part of their training. The trip was
slashed from three weeks to ten days. Students were asked to pay from their own
pockets for most part of the tour including lodging. Interestingly this tour,
which provides a useful opportunity to MERC students to interact with top media
persons outside the state, has altogether been scrapped from this year on for
made-up reasons of lack of funds.
Some former
students told Kashmir Reader they will file a PIL against this ‘wastage’ of
funds over an illegal appointment while their academic and training needs were
neglected when they were students at MERC.
The RTI had
also sought information on Masudi’s academic qualification but there is no
response to this. But sources in the University said Masudi is an Arts graduate
and a diploma holder in some stream of filmmaking. That obviously makes him
unfit for an academic job which is clear from the University statutes as well
UGC stipulations.
Sources in
the University said Masudi had initially avoided conducting any class work at
MERC for want of his academic qualifications. But of late he has featured
himself in the departmental timetable holding regular class work alongside with
other teachers. He is also overseeing research and project work of the
students. This, an University official said, is a severe violation of the academic
norms where in Masudi has been allowed to take over regular teaching of
postgraduate students when he himself lacks any PG degree in the relevant
field.
University
rules do not allow engaging of a teacher even for a petty viva of PG students
if the examiner doesn’t have a PG in the concerned field.
Some years
ago, students at MERC forced the University authorities to invalidate
assessment by an external examiner, a senior international level journalist,
after it was found out he had no PG in the subject.
The RTI
application had also asked for reasons why any teacher at MERC was not
considered for the headship of the Centre. The University has no answer for
this.
Facts on the
ground reveal an interesting and intriguing story about politicking in the
University that costs MERC dear.
A recently
promoted associate professor at MERC with nearly 25 years of service was under
rules entitled to the Centre’s headship when it became available a year ago.
But sources in the University said this teacher was ignored because a
non-teaching faculty member at MERC had “long standing issues” with the
teacher.
These sources
added, much to the heartburn of other MERC faculty members, the VC tends to
‘favour’ this non-teaching faculty member over others. So much so that this
faculty member’s service file was sometime ago covertly shifted from the
non-teaching to the teaching section. Later, over a year ago orders were issued
for debiting this member’s salary from the teaching wing of the accounts
department. This staffer who is the editor of the departmental journal has even
been allotted a full-fledged paper for evaluation. This is yet another grave
abuse of rules as non-teaching staffers cannot be assigned marks assessment of
students under University examination guidelines.
This has
effectively put this staffer in the teaching cadre, though this staffer’s appointment
was made in the non-teaching cadre. While this was a clear infringement of
rules where non-teaching staffers cannot be transferred to teaching cadre, it
further fed the negative politics and rivalries plaguing MERC, University
insiders said.
The same
non-teaching faculty member, these sources disclosed, was behind the removal of
an earlier HOD a few years ago who was ‘forced’ to put in his resignation,
though he had been running the Centre fairly well. A source in the VC’s office
said MERC faculty members had then tried to stall the removal of this HOD but
when they raised it with the VC they were, as the source put it, “sent packing
by the VC for their alleged poor CVs.”
Much against
the opinion of these teachers the VC appointed a Management professor who,
University insiders said, had neither the time nor the acumen to run the
Centre.
Reports from
the University have consistently been suggesting that the Centre has since been
in reverse gear.
And with
Masudi’s appointment as ‘Coordinator’ a new low has been crossed.
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