BHOPAL : Over 2,500 guest faculty members, mostly youngsters, working for more than 20 years in government colleges across Madhya Pradesh ‘felt cheated’ because the department of higher education changed its own notification and incorporated new condition in recruitment in what it promised five years ago.
Now, guest faculty teachers’ association is considering moving the HC to file contempt case against DHE officials, taking into cognisance the MPPSC advertisement issued recently for recruitment of 1,646 assistant professors.
“The DHE official changed their own notification which they issued in 2009 to dispose of a HC case through a recent advertisement of opening vacancies of assistant professors,” said Dr DP Singh, in-charge secretary of MP Asthayi Pradhyapak Sangh.
Guest teachers working since 1991, had filed a petition in the HC in 2005 against the state government for delay in fresh recruitment as the government did last fresh recruitment in 1991 for general category candidates.
Dr Singh said: “The government at that time issued a notification to assure that it would provide relaxation in age limit and consider experience of guest teachers wherever it would open vacancies in government colleges for teachers, sports officers and librarians. This notification was submitted in HC and later petition was disposed of.” The notification issued in February 2009 in government gazette to amend Madhya Pradesh Educational Service (Collegiate Branch Recruitment) Rules 1990, says: “Those candidate who have worked in the department as guest faculty and who have applied for direct recruitment on the sanction posts of assistance professors, sport officers or librarian shall be given a relaxation in the minimum age limit up to the above period rendered by them as guest faculty and shall get additional ‘weightage of 4 per cent marks’ for each completing year of experience subject to a maximum of 20 per cent marks.” Now, the DHE officials amended this para in quoting the same in new notification issued to amend further this condition of recruitment and removed the word ‘per cent’ from this. The notification issued in April 2014 in the gazette says, “those candidates who have worked as guest faculty in government colleges of Madhya Pradesh and who have applied for direct recruitment on the sanctioned posts of assistance professor, sports officer or librarian, shall be given a relaxation in the maximum age limit up to the actual period rendered by them as guest faculty and shall get additional weightage of ‘4 additional marks, on the basis of work experience for each complete year, subject to a maximum limit up to 20 marks. The merit marks based on experience shall be added in the final merit.” In this gazette, the state government substituted the said sub-rule to provide relaxation of only five years in maximum age limit. In the fresh recruitment process, the DHE officials also did not follow GAD order to provide ten years relaxation in age to woman candidates and five per cent relaxation in minimum educational qualification for physically challenged candidates and two per cent to green card holders.
