KU Registrar quits, unrest on campus

By Our Staff Reporter

WARANGAL, OCT. 25. The Registrar of Kakatiya University has resigned from his post and there is a struggle between the teaching and non-teaching staff as to who should occupy the key post on the eve of the crucial interviews for implementation of the career advancement scheme for teachers, which are slated to begin on Saturday.

The resignation of the Registrar, Prof. V. Laxmipathi, was accepted in the form of a resolution at the Executive Council meeting of the university on Tuesday and since then has begun the unrest on the campus which has threatened to postpone the interviews of about 100 teachers of the university who are aspiring to become selection grade lecturers, readers and professors.

The Registrar is considered an all-important person in the implementation of the career advancement scheme of the UGC and it is in this background that the power struggle in the university between members of the Executive Council, who allegedly have vested interests in the selection of candidates, and the teaching and non-teaching staff has begun.

Why the non-teaching staff are interested in the affair is precisely because the Executive Council at its meeting on Tuesday appointed a non-teacher, Mr. G. Sambaiah, who is the incumbent Joint Registrar, the in-charge Registrar after Prof. Laxmipathi quit.

The three service organisations in the university representing the administrative officers, NGOs and the Class IV employees have rallied behind Mr. Sambaiah and want him to continue as regular Registrar in tune with the decision of the Executive Council, which is the highest governing body of the university.

What led Prof. Laxmipathi to resign from his post is a debatable question. It is alleged that he was strictly adhering to a Government rule, which prohibits inclusion of the ad hoc service of teachers for consideration in the career advancement scheme.

Teachers who wanted their ad hoc service to be considered in the selection criteria created a show at the Executive Council meeting which was held in the presence of the Government nominee, Mr. B. Kripanandam, Commissioner of Collegiate Education.

Then there were also some members, out of the nine participants at the council meeting, who opposed the day-to-day decisions of the university for which the Registrar is solely responsible.

The cumulative effect of all this was an order of the council to Prof. Laxmipathi to `go out' of the hall so as to discuss the matter in a closer circle.

As if adding to the wound, students of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) had also been staging a dharna outside the building in protest against the withdrawal of admissions to the Institution of Advanced Study in Education on the campus for the current academic year.

The students, too, spoke against the going son in the university, particularly against Prof. Laxmipathi, who was facing a case under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities Act) for some other trouble. All these were enough for the axe to fall on Prof. Laxmipathi.

Since the resignation of Prof. Laxmipathi, which he is doing in the same capacity for the second time in his career, the real problem has begun.

The teaching and the non-teaching staff were involved in a showdown on the corridors of the administrative block on the campus on Wednesday afternoon over who should occupy the post.

The non-teaching staff want the executive council resolution implemented and Mr. Sambaiah continued as Registrar, whereas the teachers are firm that only someone not below the rank of a Professor will be able to carry out the selections for career advancement scheme.

The Joint Action Committee of non-teaching staff has stuck to the view that the decision of the Executive Council should be implemented and it was in the fitness of things because all other universities in the State were also appointing non-teachers as Registrars.

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Vidyavathi, told the clashing teaching and non-teaching staff on the corridors opposite her chamber that she will not implement the Executive Council decision in appointing Mr. Sambaiah.

She said she was not a party to the decision as she had gone out of the meeting hall on some work when the decision was taken. She would not mind if the selection process was postponed for six months. At the same time, she appeased the non-teachers that she had done everything for them without their asking.

The Executive Council members - Dr. Yellaiah and Dr. S. Ravinder Reddy - maintained that the decision was taken with the consent of the Vice-Chancellor.

They said the council meeting would be convened again shortly to decide the fresh candidate for Registrar's post, but Prof. Vidyavathi, who is the Chairperson of the council, ruled out any more council meetings on the issue.

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