HRD ministry, HC fault AMU for not promoting teacher
NEW DELHI: The human resource development ministry and the Allahabad high court have held Aligarh Muslim University guilty of acting in a “biased” and “discriminatory” manner in the promotion of a faculty member. The university was facing allegations of having denied promotion to a political science teacher, Rachna Kaushal, while her colleagues with lesser Academic Performance Indicator (API) points were promoted.
In an order on January 21, 2019 the Allahabad HC said the university’s decision not to promote the teacher was “not fair.” “The inescapable conclusion in light of the discussions made on the analysis of material placed is that action of university in holding the petitioner ineligible for promotion to the post of professor is not fair and transparent. Impugned action is, therefore, found to be irrational, arbitrary and unsustainable,” the HC said. It directed the university to reconsider the petitioner’s claim for promotion within two months.
Three days later, the HRD ministry wrote to AMU questioning the inaction on the fact finding committee’s report.
The university was facing allegations of having denied promotion to a political science faculty, Rachna Kaushal while her colleagues with lesser Academic Performance Indicator (API) points were promoted during the same period.
TOI first reported on May 17, 2017 when the MHRD asked the UGC to probe into the allegations against AMU of “irregularities in hiring and promotion of teachers” during the term of the ex-vice chancellor Lt Gen Zameer Uddin Shah.
The ministry in its letter (a copy of which is with the TOI) dated January 24, 2019, wrote, “Despite having pointed out the glaring discrepancy/ anomaly in the recommendations of Selection Committee by the Fact Finding Committee, the University has not taken any action on its findings. This case reflects the biased and discriminatory approach of the University authorities.”
The letter also noted that the then VC reduced the marks of Kaushal without giving any reason despite the selection committee awarding same marks as that of the promoted teacher.
The ministry observed that the faculty member Kaushal stands eligible for promotion as professor after it has examined the Fact Finding Committee’s report. The report found that Kaushal’s API points as well as her domain knowledge with teaching practices and interview performance were more than the promoted candidate.