Illegal posting at KUFOS too, salary of teaching staff blocked

Panangad (Kochi): Several postings at the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) were made by the varsity Governing Council without securing the sanction of the Government. The Audit report for 2019-20 has detected 46 non-teaching staff and 41 teaching staff appointments were made violating rules.

Though the Governing Council has the power to create posts, prior government sanction has to be secured for making the appointments. The report also directed the varsity authorities to explain why the qualifications for teachers in the Fisheries faculty were fixed without conforming to norms.

Auditors have objected to the payment of Rs 1.33 crore towards salary and other benefits to teachers who were appointed in violation of rules during 2019-20. The salaries of seven assistant professors, three associate professors, and two professors and assistant professors each were blocked.

Allowing an associate professor, who attained the age of 60 years on March 9, 2021, and is due to retire on the date, to continue in service till the last working day of March was also found to be illegal. The Audit has directed the authorities to reclaim the additional wages given to the said person.

The appointment of university school directors also violated norms. The executive engineer and overseer appointees were allowed to continue on daily wages basis even after the expiry of their contracts.

Irregularities have also been detected in the upkeep of stock registers of answer books and additional sheets used in examinations. The Audit report says that even though a letter was given seeking an explanation on October 21, 2021, no reply was received. The report has been prepared under the leadership of Audit Department Joint Director Dhanya Balakrishnan.