Thiruvananthapuram: Further evidence has emerged that the Kottayam-based Mahatma Gandhi University (MGU) went out of its way to help a candidate secure appointment as an Assistant Professor in Hotel Management. Despite lacking the required qualifications, the candidate had also found a place on the Kerala Public Service Commission’s (PSC) rank-list for the post.

The candidate, who possessed a postgraduate certificate in Tourism and Hospitality Management from Madurai Kamaraj University, had approached MGU in 2018 for an equivalency certificate with MG University’s Hotel Management course. The certificate was issued by MGU’s Science Department Dean, who had no expertise in the subject, bypassing university rules.

While issuing the equivalency certificate, MGU also considered the diploma certificate of a hotel management course conducted jointly by Kerala Institute of Labour and Employment (KILE) under the Labour Department and a private institution. While the equivalency was to be given for two PG courses, MGU considered a diploma which lacked recognition from the university as an additional qualification to issue the equivalency certificate.

Other applicants for the post alleged that the then Vice-Chancellor of MGU personally intervened in the procedures, which violated the rules of the University Grants Commission (UGC).

The PSC had initially published a notification for the post in 2015. However, the notification was later withdrawn based on a directive to ease the educational qualifications considering the lack of UGC-NET (National Eligibility Test) in the subject. Following this, another notification was issued in 2024, and an online written test was conducted in 2025.

Subsequently, the scrutiny of certificates was carried out, and a rank-list with a single candidate was published. PSC claimed that none of the other candidates possessed the required qualifications.

Curiously, the candidate who found a place on the rank-list had applied for the equivalency certificate in 2018, years before the test. In the letter he sent to the Vice-Chancellor seeking the certificate, the candidate had claimed that he was included in the rank-list and, suspiciously, the MGU authorities failed to verify his claim. In fact, the Vice-Chancellor used his discretionary powers to help the candidate.

While ignoring the rule that subjects not included in the UGC’s list should not be considered eligible, the PSC also failed to consider the stipulations of the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), which are to be followed in their place.