Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, Apr 14: As the scheduled April 17 Council meetings of both the Agricultural Universities in Jammu and Kashmir are all set to ratify revised Academic Performance Indicator (API) and UGC Minimum Qualification for Appointment and Promotion of Academic Staff, as envisaged in 6th Pay Commission, for implementation of the same with retrospective effect, uncertainty looms large over the fate of faculty members, promoted or recruited after September 2010.
Implementation of the API score with retrospective effect from September 2010, is likely to hit more than 200 faculty members, who were promoted under Career Advancement Scheme or recruited under the old criteria notwithstanding publication of Government gazette for new scheme.
Even as agenda for the schedule Council meetings of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), Jammu as well as Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), Kashmir, have been almost finalized, both the varsities are maintaining a silence over the fate of those, promoted or recruited after September 2010.
“Final decision in this regard will be taken only in the Council meetings, under the chairmanship of Governor N N Vohra on April 17 and till then nothing can be said on revisiting of these cases,” said SKUAST-Jammu Registrar, Dileep Kachroo and SKUAST-Kashmir Registrar, Dr Maqsood Wani, in response to Excelsior query in this regard.
However, sources insisted that in the light of Kerala High Court Judgement, both the Universities are bound to implement UGC regulations for 6th Pay Commission with retrospective effect from September 2010 thus leaving no scope of not revisiting these cases of promotion and recruitment.
As per a Kerala High Court Full Bench order, appointments after adoption of UGC norms by the State Government w.e.f from September 18, 2010, have to be in strict adherence with the said norms and any appointments made in contravention of the same are illegal disregarding the fact whether university Acts or statutes have been amended in tune with UGC regulations or not.
Pertinent to mention that then Financial Advisor to the Universities (University of Kashmir, University of Jammu, SKUAST- Jammu and SKUAST-Kashmir) with the approval of the Chancellor of the universities, had issued the orders for revision of pay vide no. A/78 (88 II) dated 31.07.2009, governed by the clause 2 under the captioned- Revised Pay Scales, Service Conditions and & Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) for teachers and equivalent positions and other relevant guidelines of the MHRD Notification No. 1-32/2006-U.II/U.I (id) dated 31-12.2008.
These UGC guidelines (called as UGC Minimum Qualifications for Appointment of
Teachers and other Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and other Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education -Regulations, 2010) of pay revision, were later published in the Gazette of India on September 18, 2010.
In pursuant to the said order and publication of the Gazette of India on September 18, 2010, University of Kashmir got modalities and API for appointments and CAS of teachers notified on 07.09.2011 vide No : F 10 (Modalities-UGC)RC/KU/2011 Dated: 7 .09.2011 and the same was implemented mutatis mutandis by University of Jammu. However, SKUAST of Jammu and SKUAST of Kashmir did not initiate the process of finalizing the modalities for appointment and CAS even after ratification of the Financial Adviser’s order by the Board of Management in its 13th meeting held on 06.07.2009.
Moreover, without formulating the modalities for appointments and promotions of teachers as well as API till 2015, both the Agricultural universities, kept on making fresh recruitments and promotions in gross deviation of new provisions for allegedly benefiting some blue eyed persons. Associate Professors were appointed in pay band of Rs 8000, which does not exist after 2009 and they were further up graded in the pay band of Rs 9000 without interview. These promotions were given without approval of Board of Management, which was again illegal.
The universities kept avoiding the new provisions till 2015 when the then Chief Minister Mufti Mohd Sayeed intervened and directed for implementation of revised API scores as well as UGC guidelines. Thereafter, the draft files for approval of revised API score and CAS were routed through the State Agriculture Production Department for its concurrence and then the same was approved in the University Board of Management, last month.
Now, the Councils of both the Agricultural Universities are going to ratify the revised API score and CAS in their respective meeting on April 17 for implementation of the same with retrospective effect, sources informed.
Even as new UGC scheme will streamline the promotions under CAS and fresh recruitments, which were held up for the past some time despite shortage of academic staff in both the universities, the retrospective implementation of the same is also likely to lead to revisiting of the cases of those who were promoted or recruited between September 2010 till date.
Even as authorities in both the universities are learnt to have assured the faculty members that revisiting of cases would not hit the affected persons, sources did not rule out stripping of designation in some cases.
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