Suhail Bhat
SRINAGAR, May 5: In a blatant violation of the financial rules, Kashmir University has been allegedly disbursing salaries to the science research fellows from the salary savings account that is strictly designated for permanent faculty employees.
Sources told Excelsior that for the last year, the University has been unlawfully disbursing salaries to nearly six research fellows from the savings salary account, even though their term at the University had ended.
They said out of the 12 research scholars carrying out work under the Ramanlingaswami, Ramanujan, and Inspire fellowships, six have ended their terms.
“The University provides fellows with access to laboratory space, facilities, and other resources, which are funded by the Central Departments of Science and Technology (DST) and Biotechnology (DBT). In addition, the salaries of the fellows are also covered by these departments,” an official said.
An official said that as per regulations, the funding stops after the fellowship term expires. In this case, he added, the fellows’ terms ended last year, and they have not received their salaries for almost a year. “The University, at the behest of some officials with conflicts of interest, has resorted to an illegal practice of extending the fellows’ terms. Some of these scholars are close to the officials who granted them this favour,” he said.
These doctoral and post-doctoral research fellows are embedded in universities across India to carry out research projects for a period of five years. After this period, as per guidelines, the fellows should leave the university, work on temporary arrangements, or follow the selection process to get a permanent job.
“The guidelines say that they should be given an edge at the time of the interview, but they cannot be allowed to evade the selection process and be handed the job,” he said. However, he added, the fellows have allegedly been allowed to continue at the university and given salaries from the salary account just like permanent faculty.
“Even if they were allowed to continue they should have been given the opportunity to work on a contractual basis with a pay band appropriate to their level of experience. The University should clarify why they were given salaries at the same level as permanent faculty,” he said.
Another senior Professor said that other Universities across the country accept these fellows, but no other university promises them permanent employment or even paves the way for their cause. “If they are made Assistant Professors at this University, it will set a precedent for other Universities and open a floodgate,” he said.
He added that the University administration has been making efforts to absorb these fellows into the department after a former Vice-Chancellor of the University passed a resolution in haste in favour of accommodating them in the University. “The move faced resistance during implementation, resulting in the freezing of positions,” he said.
A PhD holder said that the move would kill the hopes of nearly 800 PhD and PDF holders in science who are sitting idle at home. “We are not against their employment but want them to follow the recruitment process as per the rules,” the PhD holder said.
The Ramanujan and Ramalingaswami Fellowships are two prestigious programmes aimed at bringing highly skilled and trained Indian researchers back to India to pursue their research interests.
Meanwhile, the INSPIRE programme focuses on attracting young talent to the study of science and building a critical human resource pool for strengthening the country’s science and technology system. These programmes aim to create a pool of highly skilled researchers working on cutting-edge technologies in Indian laboratories, contributing to the country’s academic and research systems.
Vice Chancellor of Kashmir University, Neelofar Khan, told Excelsior that she would look into the issue.
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