The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has served a notice to Vice-Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi Central University, Motihari, Dr Arvind Kumar Agrawal over alleged violation of reservation norms for Scheduled Tribes candidates during admission in undergraduate and post graduate courses. This has come to the fore at a time when Agrawal faces the heat because of an attack on an assistant professor, allegedly instigated by a teacher known to be close to the V-C.
The university, which was shut following the attack on Assistant Professor in Sociology Department, Sanjay Kumar, on August 17, resumed classes Monday.
An August 6 notice from R K Dubey, Assistant Director, NCST, to the V-C stated. “ …the commission has decided to investigate/inquire into the matter in pursuance of the powers conferred upon it under Article 338A of the Constitution… you are hereby requested to submit the facts and information on the action taken… within 30 days of the receipt of the notice…”
The university, however, has received the notice only recently.
The notice was served following a complaint by Assistant Professor in the Computer Science and IT department Vipin Kumar on June 16. He alleged that out of 54 seats advertised for non-teaching positions in an employment notice dated 6 June 2017, not one seat was reserved for STs.
The complaint further stated that of 615 students enrolled in undergraduate courses in 2016-19 and 2017-20 sessions, there are only 12 ST students. Of 71 teachers, it said, only five are ST.
MGCU Teachers’ Union president and Associate Professor for Hindi, Pramod Meena, said, “The V-C has been under scanner for financial irregularity and giving undue increment to four teachers following the recent sample audit of CAG. Though he claims to have a PhD in sociology from Heidelberg University, an RTI query revealed that he got it from University of Rajasthan.”
The sample audit report shows CAG audited functioning of the university between February 2017 and March 2018 and submitted a report to HRD Ministry. The report said the university did not comply with rules to invite tender for buying goods worth over Rs 25 lakh and also questioned “advance increment” to four professors . Two of these are named in the case pertaining to the professor’s assault.
The V-C said through a text message, “The teacher association is neither a registered body nor it has statutory legitimacy as in DU or JNU.” On his PhD degree, he wrote, “…I don’t give any one right to put me on trial except legitimate authorities of Government.”
News Source (Indian Express)