IT News
Imphal, Aug 3:
The Manipur Students Federation (MSF), Democratic Students Alliance of Manipur (DESAM), Kangleipak Students Association (KSA), Students Union of Kangleipak (SUK), Apunba Ireipakki Maheiroi Sinpanglup (AIMS), and another student union have alleged irregularities in the recruitment process of Assistant Professors of Dhanamanjuri University.
Mayengbam Somorjit Meitei, President of DESAM, representing six student organizations, said that controversies have emerged since the result for appointing 88 assistant professors was announced on June 18. According to Somorjit Meitei, the results for physics and botany were missing, and the tabulation was not available when they inquired. They requested an inquiry on July 22, and a syndicate meeting formed a three-member inquiry committee whose members are not clearly known. Although the committee promised to finish the inquiry by August 1, no report has been produced as of August 3. Despite the absence of the report, interviews for the physics and botany departments are scheduled for August 5. The six student organizations have stated that they will not allow the interviews to proceed without the inquiry report.
The student organizations have also questioned the rationale behind the increase in vacancies. They believe the decision to select 60 more teachers should be reviewed by the government. In an earlier press briefing, they asked for the reservation basis on which the increased number of vacancies was distributed among the departments. Today, they raised another concern about the disproportionate increase in the number of vacancies in some departments.
However, according to a source intimate with recruitment processes in universities, “the students are clearly misinformed regarding some aspects of the university recruitment. A notification dated December 22, 2020 released by DMU, it has announced the terms and conditions for recruitment. These terms stated that any consequential vacancies arising at the time of the interview may also be filled from the available candidates, meaning the number of positions could change. It also stated that the university might, at its discretion, fill any future vacancy in the UR/SC/ST/OBC categories from the available candidates. All candidates agreed to this and submitted their forms.”
Regarding the rationale and norms of reservations underlying the distribution of seats of the additional posts, “the number of available posts in each category for the 16 subjects/departments has changed according to the 200-point roster for reservation of points and this is clearly mentioned in the results notification released on June 18,” the source stated.
Moreover, student organizations have pointed out discrepancies in the application of the reservation policy in the selection process. According to student organizations, “in a certain department, one person shortlisted for an interview in the UR category was selected as an Assistant Professor in the OBC category.” According to the source, “One person who is OBC can be shortlisted in the unreserved category based on their academic records, publications, and patents. If their points are high, they could be shortlisted in the UR category. However, once shortlisted, these marks are not carried for the interview. In the interview, everybody starts with zero points according to UGC norms. Hence, the same person can be selected for the position in the OBC category, and many ST students have also been shortlisted in the UR category for interview since their points are higher than many UR candidates. Later, they can be selected in ST category after the interview.”
Student organizations have also alleged that fresher who have recently cleared NET examination cannot apply for assistant professor positions which is violation of their constitutional rights. According to the source, “a fresher with a Master’s degree who just cleared NET might apply but may not get a call for an interview due to competition in the short-listing process. Meeting the minimum requirement of clearing NET does not guarantee an interview call; candidates must score a certain number of points to participate in the interview.”
“Even though their demand for inquiry regarding physics and botany department recruitment is justified, they are clearly misinformed about many subtle points regarding the overall recruitment process,” the source added.
