Allahabad HC Raps UGC Over Stalled Faculty Appointments; HRD Ministry Seeks Advice From Attorney General

Following an Allahabad High Court order which rapped the Union Human Resources Development (HRD) Ministry for stalling faculty appointments since 18 July due to its indecision on quota policy, the latter has approached Attorney General K K Venugopal for legal advice, reports The New Indian Express.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) had put on hold its reservation policy notified in March 2018 after protests from backward communities.

The Allahabad High Court had struck down a previous UGC circular in April 2017 notifying University scale reservations for faculty appointments, after it was revealed that some departments had no SC/ST teachers. The Supreme Court confirmed the Allahabad High Court order, and thus the UGC drafted a new proposal for department- wise reservations.

This new policy meant that there would be no reservation in some departments which had very few vacancies, drawing the ire of backward sections. Due to the backlash, the UGC put on hold its decision, and since 18 July, there have been no faculty appointments in Central or State universities.

“We have received a copy of the Allahabad high court order and have promptly sought the AG’s opinion on this,” a senior HRD ministry official said.