Thiruvananthapuram: The interview conducted at Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) for a professor's appointment has become another political hot potato.
The Pro Vice Chancellor’s wife gets 19 out of 20 marks in the interview. For the PSC interviews, the maximum marks allotted to a candidate are 14 (70 per cent). Even as the Universities follow this norm, this candidate has been given 95 per cent marks in the interview.
Meanwhile, the candidate with the highest academic qualification was given only 5 marks in the interview. Save the University campaign committee alleged that the same process - of keeping out the candidate who got the highest research score in Kannur University to allot the first rank to the CM’s private secretary’s wife - has been adopted here.
The news that the marks in the interview were increased to ensure the first rank for Usha comes after another allegation that Dr K Usha was appointed as CUSAT Environmental studies Professor based on a teaching experience certificate issued by her husband MG University Pro Vice-Chancellor Dr C T Arvindakumar.
Usha has been given full marks for all the research papers published along with her husband.
Another candidate Dr Sony C George who has the highest academic qualifications has been given only 5 marks in the interview by the interview board. Associate professor Dr Sivanandan Achari who has 21 years of teaching experience in the CUSAT Environmental Studies department is also among those left behind.
The notification on the vacancy at CUSAT was issued in 2015. After the then UDF government changed and the Left Government took over, Dr K N Madhusoodhanan was appointed the VC. This was the first appointment Madhusoodhanan made, alleged Save the University campaign office bearers.
CUSAT denies allegations
Kochi: CUSAT denied all allegations on the appointment of Dr K Usha and said those are baseless and false. CUSAT informed that the experts in the field of education were on the selection committee and that the appointment had been made by strictly following the UGC norms of 2010.
“There is nothing wrong in the M G University Pro Vice-Chancellor issuing a teaching experience certificate to his wife to get appointed as a professor in CUSAT. When the wife is appointed as the professor, the husband is not the Pro VC. The certificate was issued based on her research experience,” said State Higher Education Minister R Bindu.
