The appointment process to 19 Professor posts at the University of Kerala may run into rough weather with a section of academics objecting to the criterion of upper age limit of 50 years fixed for candidates.
While they claim neither any of the other universities in the State nor the University Grants Commission (UGC) have stipulated the norm, Kerala University has attributed it to its Statutes.
The university recently re-notified one Professor post each in 19 of its teaching departments that remained unfilled after an appointment process in 2017 owing to the paucity of qualified candidates.
The qualifications that have been prescribed in the UGC Regulations on minimum qualifications for appointment of teachers and other academic staff in universities and colleges and measures for the maintenance of standards in higher education, 2018, have been fixed for the posts.
Additionally, the university has fixed an age limit of 50 years (as on January 1, 2022). Besides for those hailing from SC, ST and Other Backward Classes, the university also decided to relax the stipulation for regular teachers in university departments and affiliated colleges as well as UGC-qualified technical staff members in the university.
A group of teachers, including those who have retired from colleges outside the jurisdiction of Kerala University, who are aged 56 years and above, have voiced their disapproval of the “discriminatory” criteria. Their representations to the university did not elicit a favourable response.
They point out the university had implemented the UGC regulations of 2018 that do not prescribe age limits for various teaching posts. They also claimed the State government had dispensed with the practice of capping age for direct recruitment of teachers in State universities in 2019. Moreover, no other university in Kerala followed the system.
“With our vast teaching experience, we possess and perhaps exceed all the necessary qualifications that are required for the posts. However, the age limit has denied us the opportunity to apply for the positions. What saddens us more is the discriminatory attitude shown by providing exemptions to teachers from colleges affiliated to the university,” the petitioners, who requested anonymity, lamented.
However, Registrar K.S. Anil Kumar said the university adhered to the appointment norms prescribed by the Kerala University First Statute, 1977, which stipulates age limits of 50, 45 and 40 years for the posts of Professor, Associate Professor and Assistant Professor respectively.
With the UGC regulations remaining silent about the criterion, the provisions of the Statutes will prevail, he pointed out.
