Citing Supreme Court keep order, UGC asks Odisha to halt recruitment in varsities for 3 months

By PTI

BHUBANESWAR: UGC has requested the Odisha authorities and OPSC to chorus from recruiting college or non-teaching workers in universities for 3 months because the Supreme Court has issued a keep order on the Odisha Universities (Amendment) Act 2020 for that interval.

The Act was handed within the meeting however the opposition alleged that the legislation will curtail the monetary and administrative autonomy of the schools and that the establishments will come beneath the direct management of the state authorities.

UGC filed particular go away petitions (SLPs) earlier than the Supreme Court difficult the Act, and the apex courtroom put an interim halt on its implementation.

In separate letters to the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) and the state Higher Education Department on May 25, University Grants Commission (UGC) Secretary Professor Rajnish Jain opposed the method for recruitment of assistant professors for sociology and commerce streams that violates the keep order.

“The UGC has assailed the judgment dated January 24, 2022 passed by the Orissa High Court in Writ Petition (C), which had upheld the validity of the Act by SLPs before Supreme Court, which stayed the operation of the impugned judgment for a period of three months,” the letter acknowledged.

The UGC identified that regardless of the keep order granted by the apex courtroom, the OPSC proceeded with the recruitment course of for the publish of assistant professor in sociology and commerce streams.

“Since the recruitment of teachers/faculty by the OPSC and that of non-teaching staff by the State Selection Board is directly in issue in the SLPs pending before the Supreme Court, the continuation of the recruitment process will be in the teeth of the stay order dated 20.05.2022 granted by the apex court,” it acknowledged.

“The UGC also reserves all its rights to take appropriate legal remedy in this regard,” it added.

OPSC Secretary Ashok Das, nonetheless, mentioned the fee was but to obtain the letter from the UGC.

The fee is constant the continued recruitment course of, he mentioned.

“OPSC will take a decision in this regard after receiving the letter,” he added.

A delegation of retired vice-chancellors and professors is scheduled to satisfy Governor Ganeshi Lal over the problem in the course of the day.