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| How KU threw rules to winds to push 'murky' recruitment process for Assistant Registrars | | Prospective applicants pin hopes on LG Manoj Sinha | |  Early Times Report
jammu, Feb 16: The University of Kashmir has literally bulldozed its own rules to push the ongoing recruitment process for appointment to the posts of Assistant Registrars, leading to charges of favouritism, nepotism and corruption.
A detailed document-based investigation carried out by Early Times reveals that the University's Recruitment Wing advertised seven positions of Assistant Registrar/Assistant Controller of Examination vide Advertisement Notice No 2, Dated 24.10.2019. The last date for submission of hardcopies of applications was November 25, 2019.
Nearly a year later, on October 15, 2020, the University's General Administration Department issued detailed notification for Regulations and Syllabus for appointment of Officers' Level positions of Assistant Registrar and Assistant Controller of Examinations and Equivalent Cadres.
These Regulations were approved by the Vice Chancellor for adoption "subject to ratification by the competent body." The Sub-Section xiv of Section 17 of these Regulations clearly mentioned that the "posts advertised but not filled up within a period of two years from the date of advertisement shall be re-advertised" while Sections 6, 7 and 8 of these Regulations, which are available on the KU website in 'Jobs/Recruitment Section', enlisted the three-phase criteria for the selection process which included holding of Preliminary Examination, Mains Examination and Personality Test.
On 13.08.2021, the University's Joint Registrar Recruitment issued a notification that the said Preliminary Examination will be held on 26.08.2021. The said Examination was held as per schedule.
On 1.12.2021, the Assistant Registrar Recruitment notified provisional merit list of shortlisted candidates for appearance in the Mains Examination which was scheduled to be held by the University's Directorate of Admissions and Competitive Examinations on January 6, 2022 but was postponed due to inclement weather.
On Tuesday (15.02.2022) the University issued the new date for the Mains Examinations and said that it will be held on February 24, 2022.
However, while the date for Mains Examination has been fixed, some startling revealations have come to the fore on how the University has brazenly violated its own recruitment rules and norms during the entire process only to allegedly favour certain blue-eyed candidates and uphold its legacy of favouritism and nepotism, a group of prospective candidates said.
The entire process, including the final selections, as per the University's own Regulations notified on 15 October 2021, had to be completed by two years (i.e. by or before 24.10.2021 in this case) or else readvertised in terms of sub-section xiv of Section 17 of the Regulations.
Sources said the University administration got a special approval from the Vice Chancellor for an illegal extension of six months for validity of these lapsed posts which had to be necessarily re-advertised.
"The only thing that had to be done this time is to ask the old applicants to not submit their applications afresh so that no fresh fee was sought from them. But the posts had to be advertised again without fail," they said.
Several University administrators, in know-how of University Statutes governing recruitments, say the Vice-Chancellor was made to extend the validity of posts under the pretext of Covid19 disruptions by using special powers vested in him under Section 13(4) of the Jammu and Kashmir Universities' Act of 1969 which says the "Vice Chancellor may take action as he deems necessary in any emergency which, in his opinion, calls for immediate action. He shall in such a case, and as soon as may be thereafter report his action to the officer, authority, or other body of the University concerned who or which would ordinarily have dealt with the matter."
Sources said while the matter of recruitment of ARs in no way falls under the purview of Section 13(4) because of the non-exigency nature of the issue, the VC's action extending validity of these posts, which is essentially a domain and purview of the two top bodies Syndicate and University Council, was neither reported to the Syndicate which wasn't held, nor the Chancellor who heads the University Council.
"That the University authorities are adamant to go ahead with this murky recruitment process itself indicates that something is wrong with the whole process which is why they don't want to readvertise these posts," the prosoective applicants said, urging LG Manoj Sinha, Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta, Financial Advisor Universities Atal Duloo to order immediate quashing of the whole selection process and readvertisement of these lapsed posts in accordance with the University's Regulations and Statutes.
The investigation also revealed that not even 50 percent of candidates who had applied for the posts appeared in the Preliminary Examination because they couldn't be informed in time owing to internet restrictions as well as hasty conduct of the Preliminary Examination. The University, they said, had received several representations from the aggrieved candidates seeking quashing of the Preliminary Examinations, but they were put into a dustbin.
"This whole murky process has deprived hundreds of prospective candidates from applying for these posts. It should be immdiately quashed and an investigation should be launched into the allegations that the validity of these posts was extended to favour certain blue-eyed candidates from within the system, some of whom are working in important administrative wings in the University," the sources said.
Many aggrieved candidates had also alleged that the Preliminary Examination was not conducted in a fair and transparent manner, but their pleas fell on deaf ears.
"Surprsingly, the task to hold this examination was handed over to the Directorate of Admissions as against office of Controller of Examinations. This was no competitive examination and thus didn't fall in the domain of the Directorate," the sources said.
Sources said some candidates and officials have even complained to the Crime Branch, Raj Bhawan and Anti-Corruption Bureau seeking probe into this shady recruitment process. They said a senior ACB official recently visited the University for a preliminary inquiry into the complaint.
As on 24.10.2021, the investigation also reveals that when the validity of these posts had expired, the three-year tenure of Vice Chancellor Prof Talat Ahmad-who approved the extension in the validity-had already expired on 12 August 2021, rendering him "infructuous" to take such policy matter decisions ahead of demitting the office.
"For any outgoing VC, it is both illegal and unethical to undertake any open selection process in the last six months of his tenure. He/she should leave it to the wisdom of the new VC to make such selections," the sources said.
Sources said the Governor's Secretariat always orders a halt on recruitment processes scheduled to be held by universities in the last six months of tenure of VCs to avoid any conflict of interest as well as any allegation of favouritism and nepotism.
"If this process is not quashed, we will be left with no option than to hold protests and go to court against VC and Registrar," the prospective applicants said. |
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