JAMMU: Expressing concern over the high headedness of the Public Service Commission (PSC) for its outright rejection of Ph.D degree holders (registered/awarded) prior to enforcement of the UGC regulations 2009 from the selection process for the posts of Assistant Professors in Higher Education Department, hundreds of Ph.D scholars spearheaded by Harsh Dev Singh, Chairman JKNPP, Balwant Singh Mankotia State President JKNPP and Yashpal Kundal State President Young Panthers staged a protest outside the the Commission building in Jammu on Thursday against the PSC’s prejudicial approach towards such candidates and sought their inclusion in the selection process.
Harsh, who was apprised by the by the contingent of Ph.D holders of Jammu Division, disclosed to the media that such Ph.D holders were earlier shortlisted and called for interview by the PSC for the aforesaid posts but the commission had subsequently refused their candidature for the interview (viva voce) on the basis of SRO 124 of 2014 which debarred them from the same.
Describing the plea of PSC as highly irrational and absurd, Singh wondered as to how could the pre 2009 Ph.D holders comply with the provisions of SRO 124 which was not in force at the time of award of their Ph.D degrees.
He said that the provisions relating to Minimum Standards and Procedure (MSP) certificate as described under SRO 124 didn’t exist at the relevant point of time when the said candidates were awarded their Ph.D degrees and hence it was farcical to ask for such certificate from these candidates to justify their eligibility which otherwise would turn their degrees infructuous and redundant.
The former Education Minister was further apprised by the Ph.D scholars about the inefficiency on the part of Higher Education Department which without securing the interests of scholars registered prior to July 2009 regulations implemented SRO 124 thus divesting all such candidates of an opportunity to take part in selection process.
The contingent also brought to the notice of Singh that the posts of Assistant Professors were earlier advertised in 2013 but was withdrawn to serve the vested interests and the purpose of UGC 2009 regulations which prescribed the mode of selection was deliberately not followed.
Dr. Hamid Iqbal Tak, President All J and K Ph.D Holders Association, resented that the State universities were inconsistent with respect to MSP certificates, while Kashmir University issued certificates to all the candidates irrespective of the date of registration whereas Jammu University partially denied these certificates to those who were awarded Ph.D degree before July 2009.
He maintained that in the wake of the controversy it was illogical for the PSC to go ahead with the selection process and added that it was highly contemptuous and discriminatory as one state could not be governed by two sets of laws.
He further said that one state with one chancellor and one pro chancellor with the same Public Service Commission for both the regions of Jammu and Kashmir could not differentiate between candidates on the basis of region and the location of university and categorically emphasised that the amendment of SRO 124 was the only solution to end the discrimination.
Mankotia and Kundal pointed out that there were disputes relating to the eligibility criteria for the selection of Assistant Professors in other states also and such states had deferred the requisite selections in the Higher Education Department till the outcome of Arun Nigavekar Committee constituted by the GoI and the UGC to review the Terms of Reference(TOR) pertaining to the evaluation of Ph.D-NET qualifications for entry of teachers and to accordingly suggest a policy of selections.
They however regretted that in J and K, the PSC had chosen to proceed with the interview process and maintained that highly meritorious candidates of Jammu region were being debarred from the selection process by the PSC on the plea of MSP certificate.
Alleging a well hatched conspiracy, the leaders said that the suspicions were rife among the Ph.D holders of Jammu region that the Higher Education Department, PSC and the Kashmir University had clandestinely connived to exclude the candidates of Jammu region from the competition and to ensure that selections are largely confined to Kashmir region.
Urging the Governor who is also the Chancellor of the Universities of Jammu and Kashmir to intervene into the matter, the NPP leaders in unison sought the inclusion of pre-2009 Ph.D holders also within the ambit of selection process and rectification of the highly anomalous and reprehensive situation created by the PSC and the Higher Education Department in the State.
They said that Panthers Party shall resort to full scale agitation if the youth of Jammu region were not ensured immediate justice.
Prominent persons who spoke on the occasion included Dr. Renu Bala, Dr. Rajinder Singh Manhas, Dr. Ravinder Jandral, Dr. Sanjeev Koul, Dr. Amit Singh, Dr. Kesar Hayat, Dr. Preeti Sharma, Dr. Adil Rashid, Dr. Narinder Sharma, Dr. Renu Dutta, Rajesh Padgotra, Sham Gorkha, Asha Rani, Chetan Sharma, Gagan Pratap Singh, Neeraj Gupta, Parshotam Parihar, Ravinder Jamwal, Sukwinder Singh Ginny and Anshuman Sharma.