SU VC terminates 5 contract lecturers for opposing UGC recognition

Karimnagar: Five contract lecturers from the service was terminated by Satavahana University Vice Chancellor S Mallesham for writing fictitious letters to the UGC stating that the Satavahana University was not eligible to secure the UGC 12B status.

The Satavahana University had secured the UGC recognition on March 23, 2022 following the measures taken by Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar and others. Incidentally, the SU established in 2008 was the only university in the Telangana state which was not having UGC recognition till March 2022.

Even as the University and students were celebrating the grant of UGC 12B recognition to the budding university, some of the contract lecturers working in the same university have written letters in fictitious names to the UGC stating that the university was not eligible to secure the UGC recognition. They informed in the letters written in the name of fictitious persons stating that the University's Botany, Telugu, Mathematics and English departments were having several flaws and it was not eligible for the UGC recognition.

The University Grants Commission after receiving six letters had informed the same to the Telangana State Education department, which in turn alerted the Satavahana University authorities also. Immediately, the SU VC had constituted an inquiry committee with four regular lecturers. Sensing some foul play with a contract lecturer, the inquiry committee pounced on his computer and found that the letters were drafted from his computer.

Later, the inquiry committee also identified four other lecturers who supported in writing the letters to the UGC. The university authorities were also shocked to notice several confidential documents of the SU in the computer of the contract lecturer. The Vice Chancellor had issued show-cause notices to lecturers on May 15 and announced their suspension and termination from service for their blatant violation of norms and breach of conduct.

The terminated contract lecturers include; Penchala Srinivas (Botany), Chakradhar Swamy (Telugu), Laxmi Prasad (English), Kamalakar (Computer Science) and Vijay (Business management). There was widespread criticism against the attitude of the contract lecturers for writing letters opposing the UGC recognition to the University.

Flaying the contract lecturers for betraying the University which was providing employment to them, Praja Prayojana Parirakshana Samithi State president Mohammed Ameer demanded the registration of criminal cases against the contract lecturers for bringing disrepute to the budding university. Stating that stringent action should be initiated against the accused persons, he threatened to launch agitation.