Kochi: The Kerala Administrative Tribunal (KAT) has stayed for 14 days the transfer of two teachers from Maharajas College, who first pointed out the error in the published marklist of SFI state secretary P M Arsho.
Director of Collegiate Education had transferred Assistant Professor (Commerce) Shaju Mathew and Assistant Professor (Chemistry) Dr Alson Martin, who first pointed out on the official college WhatsApp group that Arsho had received 'pass' for the paper he never sat for.
The Director handed out transfer orders to them even as the action against the Controller of Examinations, who failed to correct the error despite timely detection, was limited to just a warning.
Shaju Mathew was transferred to Government College, Vypeen, and Dr Alson Martin to Government Polytechnic College, Kalamassery, citing that the action was being taken to not impede a probe into the matter. There were charges that the action was politically motivated since both the teachers belong to the Government College Teachers Organization (GCTA), an outfit inclined to the Opposition Congress.
The duo had pointed out the mark list error in the official WhatsApp group in April. However, none responded, including the Principal and Controller of Examinations. When the issue turned into a major controversy, the teachers asked in the group, why no action was taken despite the error being pointed out earlier. The teachers claim that the action was politically motivated.
The transfer order, dated January 9, cited that the action was being taken against the duo for sharing misleading media news, mocking the college system, and attempting to spread the controversy through social media. However, the teachers moved the KAT, arguing that all they had done was to point out the error.
