With the promotions of several government engineering college principals and joint directors revoked following a court directive, the top echelons of technical education in the State will wear a new look.
The extraordinary move comes on the basis of a Kerala High Court directive that requires the government to comply with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) norms for promotion to the posts of principals in government engineering colleges. The government order (GO) reversing the promotions was issued on November 11.
As many as 18 faculty members, including A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technological University Vice Chancellor Rajasree M.S.; Director of Technical Education Byjubai T.P.; and Kerala Public Service Commission member M.R. Baiju; are among those whose temporary promotions as principals have been reversed.
‘Based on seniority only’
The principals of the College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram (CET), and the government colleges in Kottayam, Idukki, Palakkad, Kozhikode, Wayanad and Kannur have also been demoted after the court found the government to have promoted teachers on the basis of seniority, and not on eligibility norms.
In the GO, the Higher Education Department has promoted 43 teachers to the cadre of principals in government engineering colleges and joint director of technical education with retrospective effect from the date they turned eligible for the particular post as per the Pay Scales, Service Conditions and Qualifications for the Teachers and Other Academic Staff in Technical Institutions Degree Regulations, 2010.
While many of those promoted have retired from service, they are in line for remunerative benefits with retrospective effect. Notably, the government does not intend to recover the incentives given to principals whose promotions have been revoked.
According to Additional Chief Secretary (Higher Education) Venu V., who led the selection panel, the allotment of principals will be undertaken within the time-frame so that none of the colleges are adversely impacted. He remained confident that the transition would not have any bearing on the ongoing BTech allotment process in colleges.
The reversal of Dr. Rajasree’s promotion would not have any bearing on her appointment as KTU Vice Chancellor since the selection process was independent of career advancement.
Complaints remain
In spite of the “corrective process” that saw eligibility criteria provided more weightage than seniority, a section of the teaching community felt that anomalies still existed in the new promotion list. Many who got PhD degrees less than five years ago have been promoted in violation of the AICTE norms, they claimed.
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