KSOU declares PP of 2012 appointments, illegally?

BoM member cries foul, KSOU VC says that the move is legal

 While a one-man committee of retired High Court judge K Bhakthavatsala is probing several irregularities at the Karnataka State Open University, including appointments, probationary period (PP) of 38 persons appointed in 2012, has been declared by the varsity on Wednesday.

The decision, according to MLC Go Madhusudan, member of the Board of Management (BoM) of KSOU, is ‘unilateral’ and ‘illegal’ and taken without consulting the BoM. VC M G Krishnan, however, maintains that the declaration has legal sanctity.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, he said, while PP of three persons were declared last week, PP of others were declared on Wednesday. “The registrar, with the approval of the vice-chancellor, can declare the PP. The role of the BoM is to ratify the decisions taken by the VC and registrar,” he said.

To a question on the one-man committee probing irregularities in appointments to the KSOU, he said, “I understand that the probe is only regarding 28 people whose appointments were regularised and about the appointment of regional directors.”
He added that the appointment of employees whose PP has been declared on Wednesday, was not being probed, as there were no allegations of irregularities regarding these people. “It was a routine declaration of PP,” he said.

Go Madhusudan complained that the BoM meeting, which was scheduled for December 26 was postponed to December 29, after which it was postponed indefinitely. “Meanwhile, the decision to declare the PP was made in a haste and is illegal,” he said.

Contradicting the statements made by Krishnan, he said, order papers, which declare PP, specifically mention that the PP is declared after the approval of the BoM. “If consulting the BoM was not necessary, why is there such a clause in the papers?” he questioned. He said, he has brought the issue to the notice of the personal secretary of the Governor and will take up the issue with the Governor soon.

“The whole appointment process was a scandal. By declaring PP, Krishnan has showed that he has scant respect for the government probe,” he said.

Thimmappa M S, former VC of Bangalore University, said, PP can be declared only by the appointing authority of a varsity, which is either the Syndicate or in the case of the KSOU, the BoM. “The VC alone does not have the power to declare PP,” he said. He added that such a move is against law.