AWANTIPORA: At a time when Islamic University of Science and
Technology (IUST) in Awantipora is facing a severe shortage of faculty
which has jeopardized the future of thousands of students, the
Varsity’s management is allegedly busy in accommodating some
“blue-eyed” candidates on non-teaching posts.
Sources said the University’s outgoing vice-chancellor, Prof AR Trag
has started the process to absorb some of the “blue eyed” candidates
as permanent employees in the Varsity before the end of his tenure.
They said the administration may promote three Assistant Registrars
(ARs) as Deputy Registrars (DRs) and for that the documentation
process has already been started.
“To fill the vacant Assistant Registrar posts, some blue eyed clerks
would also be promoted as Assistant Registrars,” sources said, adding,
the process has been intensified to ensure all these candidate would
be placed at the prize posting before VC Trag’s term ends by the end
of this year.
A senior officer in the IUST, wishing anonymity, said the University
management didn’t pay any heed to the repeated pleas by the students
to strengthen the teaching faculty by filling the vacant posts in the
Varsity, “The VC’s priority seems to promote and fill the vacant posts
of non-teaching staff who are close to the management,” they said.
“We even raised these queries several times in the past too, but the
management failed to answer. Their priority seems to promote
non-teaching faculty instead of strengthening the much-needed teaching
faculty,” sources said.
Sources said the VC’s tenure is ending by February 2016 but his focus
seems only to adjust some “blue candidates” already working as
contractual employees in the university as permanent staff.
Some faculty members have also raised questions that the Varsity
already recruited a permanent Deputy Registrar (DR) last year, “Where
does the need arise to make three more Assistant Registrars’ as Deputy
Registrars, while as the issue of recruiting the much needed teaching
faculty has been sidelined. This all is being done at a time, when the
university is facing financial crisis,” sources said. They said the VC
has also fixed 30th June as the interview date for filling these
posts.
Vice-chancellor Prof AR Trag said the Varsity has started recruiting
permanent staff in a phased manner and the tomorrow’s interview is
part of that process. “For teaching, we need senior people as
permanent faculty who can deliver quality education because we have to
issue degrees to the students also,” he said.
When asked about teaching faculty posts, the VC said the IUST has
already advertised 22 posts of assistant professors and associate
professors to fill the vacancies. “Hopefully, the recruitment process
will starts from the month of July,” he said.
Refuting the allegations that some “blue-eyed” candidates are being
absorbed in non-teaching posts, Professor Trag said that he has been
serving in the state from last 37 years at different capacities and
during this period nobody raised fingers against his credibility.
“I respect merit and I will leave this process to the experts,” he said