Kochi: The University Grants Commission (UGC) on Wednesday dealt a blow to Kannur University's claim that Priya Varghese's appointment met the required criterion.
Countering the varsity's claim, the UGC submitted to the High Court that a candidate's research period cannot be counted as teaching experience.
A single bench of the High Court directed the UGC to submit its official stand on the matter in writing. It also extended the stay on Priya's appointment by a month.
Priya is the wife of K K Ragesh, who is the private secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, who is also the chancellor of state universities, had stayed Priya's appointment as an associate professor at the university two weeks ago alleging nepotism. The order was challenged by the Kannur University Syndicate in the High Court.
Priya had recently taken to Facebook to claim that she was eligible for the post as per UGC norms.
Reiterating that the eligibility for the post was eight years of teaching/research experience, she cited the UGC guidelines to validate her case.
She cited an order issued by the Governor in 2016 that accorded "sanction for the deputation of Smt Priya Varghese, Assistant Professor in Malayalam, Sree Vivekananda College, Kunnamkulam, Thrissur for undergoing PhD course for the period from 29-07-2015 to 28-07-2017, under the Faculty Improvement Programme (FIP)."
Priya argued that under the Faculty Development Programme (FDP), which was started as FIP in the tenth plan, she had not availed leave to pursue her PhD, hence her period of research counted as experience.
