Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

KU senate downgrades posts in law department

By G. Mahadevan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. Sept. 12. The senate of the University of Kerala, which met on September 10, had decided to downgrade two posts of reader in the Department of Law, even though there was no quorum in the meeting when this decision was taken.

As the term of the senate has expired, it is the syndicate which meets as the senate, these days.

Sources in the University told The Hindu that there were only eight syndicate members present when this proposal was passed; the quorum required is 10. Though at the beginning of the meeting 12 syndicate members were present, four of them left the meeting at various points of time before the proposal was taken up for discussion.

"When I, along with a colleague left the hall, I noted that there were only about six or seven people left. I don't know how this proposal was passed. This is an illegal decision of the University. Since the syndicate was meeting as the senate, a quorum is required for all decisions. So, the University cannot justify its action by saying that 12 syndicate members had signed the attendance register at the beginning of the meeting," said the syndicate member, Madhu Nair.

No lecturers

The head of the Department of Law, N.K. Jayakumar, had, some years ago, written to the University asking that the two posts of reader lying vacant in his department be downgraded to that of lecturer. He had pointed out that the department had no lecturers at present and that downgrading the post would also benefit the University financially.

"The department badly needs lecturers. We are managing with one professor and one reader. This cannot go on like this," he said.

The file containing Dr. Jayakumar's request was pending in the office of the Vice-Chancellor, when M.K. Ramachandran Nair took over as the VC recently.

According to sources, Dr. Jayakumar, in the meantime, had also asked the University to create two lecturer posts in his department. The syndicate, last month, had decided to write to the Government seeking permission for the creation of lecturer posts in the department. The syndicate, which met on September 4, had passed the proposal to downgrade the posts but had also said that this decision was subject to the Supreme Court verdict on a Special Leave Petition filed by one D. Sivakumar against the decision of the University to reject his application for the post of reader in the Department of Law.

It was at this juncture that the Vice-Chancellor approved the proposal to downgrade the posts with the caveat that the approval was subject to the ratification of the Academic Council. The senate's decision will now have to be endorsed by the Academic Council and be approved by the Chancellor to become operational.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Updates: Breaking News |

Stories in this Section

• New buildings to get heritage touch
• Major breakthrough in LIC theft case
• KU senate downgrades posts in law department
• Role of theatre stressed
• 3 of a family among four killed in accident
• Around the City
• In Thiruvananthapuram Today
• Readers' Mail

Copyright © 2004, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu