Part 1: An uphill job! PSC rank-holders wait eternally for offer letters
Part 2: Here's the Kerala model of granting permanent govt jobs to party cronies
Governments may come and go but they are all the same when it comes to hiring and regularising temporary staff. The only thing that differs is the devious methods adopted by the governments to make the appointments by keeping the PSC outside the framework without framing special rules to leave the task to it.
And when the governments themselves act on the sly, even autonomous institutions like universities go astray, as is obvious by the recent controversies surrounding the appointments at many universities in the state.
Then, when it comes to the 'mercy' showered by the governments on compassionate grounds, the people who benefit from the job security include the relatives of politicians and public employees.
The 'relative' value
What is holding the government back from implementing the special rule in many institutions is the fact that no large scale irregularities will be possible if PSC starts making the appointments. It is as if the government wants to have its say in appointments and not hand over the task completely to the PSC.
Along with party sympathisers and activists who get appointed to various posts are relatives of political leaders who are given the responsibility of key positions in most organisations.
The government has not yet denied the allegations made by Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala in the Assembly regarding the appointment of relatives of politicians in Kinfra.
Ramesh Chennithala had alleged that the son of an MLA; a DYFI block secretary and the son of a CPM councillor in Kannur; the son-in-law of an official who was on the personnel staff of Pinarayi Vijayan when he was the power minister; and the daughter of a former state leader of the CPM teachers' union were appointed to key posts.
No consideration for even court orders
In the Kerala Library Council, 60 employees, including relatives of CPM leaders, were made permanent. But, when the High Court stayed this order, they started to again work on a temporary basis. However, the government is yet to dismiss the temporary employees appointed to the posts that are to be filled by the PSC or select candidates from the LD Clerk rank list.
Most of those appointed through the 'backdoor' for the 'Samagra Shiksha' programme in Kerala are relatives of politicians. The wives of a CPM district office secretary, a cameraman of the party's channel, and local committee members thus became employees of the programme very easily.
Hired to promote minister on government salary
Three people have been appointed in the office of the industries minister exclusively to manage social media. So then who should foot the salary bill of the three employees?
Their job is to make viral on social media the administrative achievements of the department and the minister. Although the three — a Kannur native, a Palakkad native and a former channel worker — have been hired to promote the minister and the department on social media, their appointments have been made under entities like KINFRA and the Kerala Bureau of Industrial Promotion (K-BIP).
Their salaries range from Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 per person and are paid by their respective organisations. Also, Rs 7 lakh was spent on cameras and laptops to set up a media room. And who paid the Rs 7 lakh? It was the Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd (KMML) in Chavara, which is, of course, governed by the industries department.
Despite spending this huge amount, the media room is yet to be set up, a fact confirmed by the Principal Secretary of the Department of Industries himself. The cameras and laptops are now being used by the social media operation team!
University appointments under a cloud
All the recent appointments in Kozhikode, Kannur and Kalady universities had become controversial due to political reasons. The controversy snowballed following the recent appointment of Ninitha Kanicheri, the wife of former member of Parliament MB Rajesh, to Kalady University. The main allegation is that the universities are twisting the rules for appointments depending on the political force in power.
According to the criteria issued by the UGC in 2018, the appointment of an assistant professor depends mainly on two things: the first is the academic performance indicator, or API, score, and the other is an interview. The API score includes 30 points for possessing a PhD, seven points for NET with JRF, five points for NET only, 10 points for five research papers in research journals, 28 points for postgraduate marks above 80 per cent, and 10 points for teaching experience in higher education.
Universities can determine the API score that they require to shortlist a candidate. The cut-off score set by Kalady University for the post of assistant professor — for which only highly qualified candidates apply — was 60. Those who oppose the appointment of Ninitha Kanicheri have been alleging that the cut-off mark was kept low to facilitate her appointment. If a high cut-off mark is fixed, then those with no teaching experience would not even make it to the shortlist of candidates for the interview.
Ninitha, who is a school teacher, does not have the teaching experience as defined by the UGC. So, obviously, she would not be eligible for the 10 API score given for teaching experience. The university's explanation, however, is that it did not have to consider Ninitha's teaching experience as only 60 marks were required for selection as assistant professor.
Jobs for both husband and wife
More than 40 candidates appeared for the interview for three temporary assistant professors' posts in the newly started MBA course at the Thalassery Engineering College, run by the Cooperative Academy of Professional Education (CAPE).
A resident of Sreekantapuram in Thalassery got the first rank in the interview conducted by a board that included the college principal and the MD of a CPM-controlled cooperative entity. He had a PhD in management. Interestingly, his wife came second, but she did not have a PhD. Another candidate with a PhD was ranked fourth in the interview.
Other candidates who applied for the job allege that there was political interference in the appointments of the husband and wife who scored the first and second ranks in the same interview and that a CPM leader who is also a people's representative is behind all this.
When the college principal, who was a member of the interview board, was contacted over the phone to find out the facts, his response was: "You will only ask questions on controversies. I cannot answer them over the phone." When he was asked if he would provide the answers in a face-to-face meeting, he cut the phone. He did not pick up calls after that.
Most government appointments are temporary
The government misleads those who raise their voice against backdoor appointments by showing various figures. But, those same figures, show how PSC remains a mute spectator to temporary appointments and those of relatives of political leaders and those occupying high posts in various entities. According to information obtained through the RTI Act, 63 per cent of the total recruitment of government employees took place without the involvement of the PSC.
21-year wait for govt 'mercy'
If temporary appointments are not enough, there is 'compassionate' hiring — giving jobs to dependents of government employees who die during service. There are those who justify such permanent appointments of relatives and acquaintances of dead employees as an act of 'mercy' on the part of the government. PT Suja, a native of Mannarkkad in Palakkad, would like to narrate her 21-year struggle to such people.
Suja was a PD teacher at MALP School in Mundekarad. She was removed from service on April 29, 2000, after the education department took over the schools in the state that were under the supervision of panchayat managements. In the wake of a Supreme Court order, the government said it was ready to reappoint 89 teachers, but Suja was not among those considered.
Subsequently, even when the government first appointed 12 people and later six people on the basis of a High Court verdict, it did not look at Suja's case. She also got a favourable order from the Kerala Administrative Tribunal, but even that did not help her. According to Suja, she is the only person left to be re-appointed among those who had lost their jobs that day. As she struggles for a job, family responsibilities also weigh her down. She continues to wait in the hope of getting a favourable decision from the government.
There is also a section that preys on temporary employees for political gains and for collections by promising permanent jobs. Some officials are also a part of this racket. The story of this deception will be revealed tomorrow.
Contributed by: Renji Kuriakose, Jayan Menon, Jayachandran Ilankath, M R Harikumar, V R Prathap, Joji Simon and K P Safina. Compiled by: Nidheesh Chandran
