The blank appointment letter signed by the registrar. Telegraph picture

Chhapra, Jan. 19: The ongoing screening of teachers of Jai Prakash University for the posts of readers and professors seems to be a mockery of the entire system of recruitment.

The meeting of screening committees of different subjects began on January 17 without any representative of the governor or the state government. Therefore, the vice-chancellor has refused to acknowledge the validity of these meetings. Yet, the meetings are on.

Blank appointment letters for the nomination of subject experts as members of screening committee for promotion of teachers with the signature of registrar Vijay Pratap Kumar are freely available with the teachers aspiring for promotion. Ravi Prakash Bablu, a reader in Ganga Singh College, has alleged that the blank appointment letter undersigned by the registrar is available with the teachers at a cost of Rs 1,000. The Telegraph is also in possession of such blank appointment letters.

Bablu told The Telegraph that aspirants for promotion are calling experts of their choice and paying their travel charges. While the university employees immediately take the signature of such experts on the travel allowance, Bablu alleged the travel allowance of those experts would be later withdrawn by the varsity officials as the aspirants are paying the money to the experts.

The aspirants are using it to invite experts of their choice and footing their travel and food bills to bag the long-pending promotion of readers and professors. Resentment is prevailing among some faculty members over the process of applications for promotion of the teachers.

Faridul Hassan, a reader in political science, has written to the vice-chancellor that some teachers aspiring to be promoted to the rank of professor are not eligible. He has pointed out that lecturers promoted to the ranks of reader under “time-bound promotion scheme” are now claiming promotion to the post of professor under “merit scheme” which is not in accordance with the law. He said that some aspirants for professors’ posts have got their cases recommended through unscrupulous means.

“Time-bound promotion scheme and merit promotion scheme are two different things and amalgamating both will be a mockery of rules and regulations, it is practised nowhere else,” Hassan said.

He added the most frustrating aspect of the promotion process is that some of the teachers who wanted to be promoted to the rank of professors had been appointed initially without requisite qualifications. A reader in political science, Ram Ayodhya Singh, said he has submitted the documents of such aspirants to the experts of the screening committee. The name of Lal Babu Yadav, a reader in the department of political science, tops the list. Yadav’s Intermediate marksheet shows that he had failed in mathematics and was given grace marks in chemistry. But surprisingly he is declared as passed in the marksheet.

Singh said earlier also he had submitted a detailed report about Yadav supported by relevant documents and papers to the vice-chancellor and the matter was put before an inquiry committee but nothing has happened till date. Both the teachers alleged that another such case relates to Amravati of the Sanskrit department. They said all the files related to promotion of teachers are surprisingly in the custody of the co-ordinator of the college development committee, R.N. Sharma, whereas those should have been with the registrar.

When registrar Vijay Pratap Kumar was contacted, at first he feigned ignorance about the issue. Then, he claimed that the name of the subject expert in the appointment letter in the possession of The Telegraph must have been left out by mistake.