Kerala HC, on Thursday vacated the Single Judge’s ruling ordering the Kannur University to re-examine Priya Varghese’s credentials before appointing her as an associate professor there. K.K. Ragesh, Pinarayi Vijayan’s private secretary, is married to Priya Varghese.
The Kerala High Court ruled that Priya Varghese, the spouse of private secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, K.K. Ragesh, credentials are sufficient for the position of Associate Professor in the Malayalam Department of Kannur University.
Ragesh, a former CPI(M) member of the Rajya Sabha and a native of Kannur, is regarded as Vijayan’s close ally.
Single Bench Decision:
When examining the petition of second-place contender Jacob Skariah last November, a single bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran concluded that Varghese lacked the qualifications required by the UGC and that her appointment needed to be reevaluated.
A division panel overturned the single-bench decision this morning, it decided that while evaluating the period of teaching experience, Priya Varghese’s time spent obtaining her PhD through the Faculty Development Programme could not be excluded, which was a setback for Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed, Chancellor of State Universities, who had halted her appointment. The relevant legislation, in this case, was Regulation 3.11 of the UGC Regulations, 2018.
According to the division bench’s interpretation of this provision, candidates for the PhD who are not faculty members will not include teaching experience towards their degree at that time. However, the time will be considered teaching experience if regular faculty members are pursuing their research degree at the same time as they are assigned to teach.
Incidentally, information came to light last year when an RTI request indicated that Varghese received the highest score (32 out of 50) in the personal interview, while Skariah received a score of 30, but her research score was just 156, while the second-placed applicant received 651.
Kerala HC’s View:
According to the court, their study period will not be removed just because they completed a research degree and a teaching assignment simultaneously.
Similarly, regular faculty members who have taken advantage of study leave to complete a PhD programme under the Faculty Development Programme will also receive the benefit of including the time spent pursuing a research degree in the teaching/research experience required for the teaching post that is announced for an appointment.
Regular faculty members who have taken advantage of this benefit make up 20% of the total faculty strength.
The division bench noted that the appellant had a service lien at the Assistant Professor position at Sree Vivekananda College Kunnamkulam during that time.
Varghese’s counsel claimed that the writ petition was flawed because it lacked the requisite parties’ joining. It was claimed that Kannur University, which was not a party to the petition, was responsible for publishing the rank list. It was argued that the University had been given instructions by the Single Judge without being made a party.
The Court believed that the standards established by the UGC in India contained certain elements of the Humboldtian paradigm. Numerous stipulations in the UGC Regulations, 2018, which have been implemented by the State Government and hence apply to Kannur University, show how much the teaching community is encouraged to engage in research. The Court made a note.
The Court stated that comprehending the nature and application of the term “teaching” or “pedagogy” in and of itself will help define the extent of the phrase “teaching experience.” The Court stated that evolving conceptions of learning bring along corresponding changes in the conception of teaching.
Varghese acknowledged her satisfaction with the decision, stating that while she had been greatly hurt at the time by numerous media reports, she is now glad that she had been proven to be correct.
