HP University draws flak over recent appointments

HPU had advertised 11 posts of various categories in January 2009,interviews for some of which were conducted earlier this year. Kaul Singh said after the UGC’s revised pay scales were implemented in the university in October 2009,the posts of lecturers and readers were restructured as assistant professors and associate professors,respectively. The changed nomenclature was also combined with an upgrade of the required qualifications,like conditions for published research papers for an associate professor.

“The posts should have been re-advertised so that people with better qualification could have applied too. The government needs to look into it seriously,or else the university may further lose its grade,which has already fallen from A to B,” Thakur had said in the Assembly.

Talking to The Indian Express,Vice-Chancellor Sunil Kumar Gupta,however,said: “There was no need to re-advertise the posts,as the UGC has only changed nomenclature of the posts and not the eligibility criteria. Our decision to go ahead with the old advertisement has not harmed anyone. When we will place advertisements for new vacancies,people will know there is no change at all except for the name of the post.”

HPU Executive Council member and employee leader Waryam Singh Bains has,meanwhile,threatened to go on a fast-unto-death on the issue of non-implementation of the council’s decision. He had earlier taken up the issue with Governor Urmila Singh and Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal,besides Education Minister I D Dhiman.

In a statement issued on Sunday,Bains said: “It is the duty of the vice-chancellor to effect the decisions of the council,but in the matter of pay parity disputes of non-teaching employees,the local audit department has overlooked the decision of the EC.”

He also demanded a high-level probe by a sitting judge into the functioning of the university.