BANGALORE: With the State Government directing the Karnataka State Public Services Commission (KPSC) to follow an outdated University Grants Commission (UGC) regulation for selecting degree college lecturers, the Commission has been forced to delay the recruitment process.

Regulations

The Government had requested KPSC to recruit 610 lecturers (including 68 backlog vacancies) on September 1. The process could not be initiated as the Government had asked the Commission to adhere to an UGC Regulation of 2000, though the UGC amended the same in June 2006.UGC's 2000 regulation said the candidates should have passed the National Eligibility Test (NET) to be appointed as lecturers in degree colleges.

However, the candidates who had completed M.Phil or Ph.D. before December 1993 were exempted from this.

On June 14, UGC amended the minimum qualification regulation extending exemption to M.Phil candidates to teach undergraduate courses and Ph. D., candidates to teach postgraduate courses from clearing NET. Disagreeing with the Government's stand, KPSC Chairman H.N. Krishna wrote to Minister for Higher Education D.H. Shankaramurthy on September 13 bringing this to his notice.

Non-compliance

He said non-compliance with UGC amendment could lead to litigation by the aggrieved candidates and hold up the selection process.

Dr. Krishna brought to the notice of the Minister that many candidates who had completed M. Phil or Ph. D., after 1993 took legal recourse after the selection of 213 lecturers to degree colleges in 2005, even though they were ineligible as per existing UGC regulation. Initially, Principal Secretary to Government (Higher Education) wrote to the Commission on September 18 that the Government was not in favour of exempting candidates with M. Phil and Ph. D., degrees from clearing NET.

Following another letter from KPSC Chairman to the Minister on September 25, the department proposed to issue an executive order to amend the Cadre and Recruitment (C & R) Rules exempting M.Phil and Ph.D., degree holders from clearing the NET, sources in the department said.

Amendments

Mr. Shankaramurthy told The Hindu that C & R Rules need not be amended in view of the UGC regulation. He would ask the Principal Secretary to immediately issue a modified order, the Minister added.

The Commission has initiated the process of selecting 469 lecturers to pre-university colleges. If candidates who have completed M. Phil or Ph. D., after 1993 are denied selection to the post of degree college lecturers, they would compete with candidates with mere postgraduate degrees for PU college lecturer posts.

It is for this reason that the commission was delaying notifying the vacancies of degree college lecturers.

The commission feels that selection of degree college lecturers should be completed first to absorb candidates with higher qualification.

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