Thiruvananthapuram: A legal battle is likely to take place over the status of six Syndicate members in the A P J Abdul Kalam Technological University who were appointed by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government based on an Ordinance in February 2021.
These six Syndicate members are continuing in their post citing a Bill passed by the Assembly recently. Even though the Governor is yet to approve the Bill, the state government has assured the six members that their position in the Syndicate is safe. However, the Save University Campaign Committee has disputed the stand of the government and said that it would approach the court.
According to the state government, the Ordinance recommending the increase in strength of the Syndicate from 13 to 19 was in force when these six members were appointed. Consequently, they are eligible to continue as Syndicate members, said government sources. The government also cites an earlier High Court order approving the appointment of K C Joseph as a Syndicate member of Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) to justify its stand. In that case, the court had observed that Joseph could continue as Syndicate member for four years even though the Ordinance appointing him had lapsed.
However, the Save University Campaign Committee objects to this argument by pointing out that while appointing Joseph, his term was mentioned as four years. However, the LDF government did not specify any term for the six Syndicate members of KTU. Moreover, when an Ordinance is later turned into a law, a saving clause comes into force. But, as Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has not so far signed the Bill passed by the Assembly appointing the six members, the saving clause cannot be applied in their case.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that the Governor would seek legal opinion on the matter as the Save University Campaign Committee has also filed a complaint with him.
The six new members are, Dr P K Bjiu, CPM state secretariat member and former MP; I Saju, a member of the CPM Thiruvananthapuram district committee; Dr B S Jamuna, a former faculty at Kerala University and Dr Vinod Kumar Jacob, Dr Sanjeev and S Vinod Mohan, who are faculty at engineering colleges.
Lucrative post
Compared to other universities, Syndicate members at KTU enjoy higher travel allowance and sitting fees. In fact, Opposition Leader V D Satheesan recently alleged that the six new Syndicate members at KTU had already collected Rs 50 lakh in this regard even though their continuation in the posts was illegal.
In Kerala University, Syndicate members receive Rs 750 as sitting fees and travel allowance at Rs 9 per km. In comparison, the sitting fees in KTU are Rs 3,000 and travel allowance Rs 19 per km. The hotel bills are also met by the university. In addition, Syndicate members are paid Rs 5,000 for carrying out inspections at affiliated colleges. Three Innova cars are also allotted for the travel of Syndicate members.
Every month, around 20 meetings of the Syndicate and sub-committees take place. Consequently, each Syndicate member earns Rs 50,000-80,000 as sitting fees. Many of them also collect Rs 10,000-15,000 as travel allowance each month.
The erstwhile Kerala Technology University has been renamed as A P J Abdul Kalam Technological University.
