Universities to put an end to backdoor appointments

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Vice Chancellors of Kerala, Calicut, and Technological Universities have decided to put an end to politically motivated temporary appointments in universities, stressing adherence to proper recruitment channels like the Public Service Commission (PSC) and Employment Exchanges. They have resolved not to allow the continued appointment of temporary staff whose contracts have been extended repeatedly over several years, typically renewed every six months.

University of Kerala Vice Chancellor Dr. Mohanan Kunnummal told Kerala Kaumudi that temporary appointments made by Syndicate members will no longer be permitted. Future appointments will be conducted through employment exchanges and formal interviews. Technological University Vice Chancellor Dr. K. Sivaprasad echoed this, saying that such politically influenced appointments are against the rules and must now strictly follow employment exchange procedures.

A recent Kerala Kaumudi report revealed that over 4,000 politically affiliated individuals have been temporarily appointed across universities, even while thousands of highly qualified youth remain unemployed. The University of Kerala tops the list with 971 temporary staff, including in technical departments. The decision is to gradually phase out such temporary employees.

Although the recruitment of non-teaching staff in universities was transferred to the PSC in 2014, permanent appointments have not been possible due to the absence of special recruitment rules. New universities continue to receive government permission to hire temporary staff without creating permanent posts. In many cases, even the rule mandating temporary recruitment via employment exchanges is not followed.

Temporary staff are currently handling key responsibilities such as exam administration, question paper handling, mark entry, and dispatching answer sheets for evaluation. These roles are now expected to be vacated as part of the reform. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) earlier found that Rs 9.25 crore spent on temporary staff salaries in the Technological University was in violation of rules.

Delay as an excuse for irregularity

• The common justification for bypassing employment exchanges is the claim that the process causes delays. However, if vacancies are notified online, candidate lists can be generated within a week.
• Of over 30,000 temporary appointments, less than one-fourth were made through employment exchanges. From June 2021 to March 2024, a total of 37,390 appointments were made via employment exchanges across all departments.