JOIN USState Higher Education Minister R V Deshpande said on Friday that he has directed Higher Education Department Principal Secretary Rajneesh Goel to conduct a detailed probe into the alleged irregularities in recruitments by the Karnataka State Open University (KSOU), Mysore.
Speaking to reporters here, Deshpande said a team of officials will be formed to conduct the probe. The government will take appropriate action based on the probe report. The government will not shield anybody if allegations are proved, he added.
The KSOU has been accused of illegally creating several posts and filling them, and giving promotions to officials, flouting its own norms and government directives. The varsity allegedly created “non-sanctioned” temporary posts, extended the term of the regional directors, thus violating Section 2(9)(3) of the General Recruitment Statute, 2004 of KSOU, and hiked their salaries, resulting in financial burden on the varsity. The age criterion was also allegedly overlooked. These illegalities are learnt to have taken place between July 2010 and January 2013. K S Rangappa was the vice-chancellor of the KSOU during this period.
The minister said the government will obtain a report on the functioning of 20 private universities from a three-member committee. A provision has been made in the Karnataka Universities Act to set up a committee to monitor these universities, he added.
The government has entrusted the responsibility to follow up a proposal to set up an Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) in Dharwad to the Department of IT, BT and Science and Technology, which will coordinate with the Centre and get it sanctioned. The State Cabinet has decided to give 50 acres belonging to the Karnatak University for the proposed IIIT.
The government has also sent a proposal to the Governor to appoint a new VC to Visvesvaraya Technological University. A search committee will be set up to select candidates for the post of VC for Tumkur University, he said and added the Higher Education department has also initiated the process to recruit 1,100 degree-college lecturers, that will be done by Karnataka Public Service Commission.