Norm violation in Indian Institute of Mass Communication postings

Kottayam: Pointing towards serious anomalies in recruiting academic staff to the Kottayam centre of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (), the contractual post of the regional director/academic head was filled in 2017 without advertising in a national newspaper.

The notification appeared only on its website, as per an RTI document the DC received from the IIMC. The assistant professor vacancy was also advertised on September 5, 2018, similarly. There are allegations that though UGC qualified candidates were present for the interview of the post of assistant professor they were not chosen and the person who did not have the UGC qualifications were recruited for the post.This when the IIMC is trying to secure the deemed University status by fulfilling the UGC norms.

According to the manual of policies and procedure of employment of consultants by the Union finance ministry (which should be mandatorily followed by the government departments) –Chapter 7 selection of individual consultant section 7.2-, selection of individual consultants shall be carried out by advertising the requirement in at least one national newspaper of repute.

Selection shall be based on their qualifications for the assignment.  The appointments of the entire staffs in the IIMC Kottayam centre are made as consultants. The regional director is the administrative as well as academic head of IIMC.

They shall be selected through a comparison of qualification of at least three candidates.

The RTI reply further shows this rule flouted and only two candidates appeared for the interview of the regional director instead of at least three.

The Rule 183 of the General Financial rules, 2017 says if the consulting service cost is up to Rs 25 lakh, a long list of potential consultants may be prepared based on formal or informal enquiries from other ministries or departments or organisations involved in similar activities, chambers of commerce and industry, association of consultancy firms, etc.

The Supreme Court had recently directed the IIMC to regularise many contractual employees working on its Dhenkanal (Odisha) campus taking into account the possibility of maladministration.

According to the RTI reply, the contractual appointment has been made for six months or one year. However, despite the completion of the tenure, the IIMC never renotified for new recruitment. The academic head as per the RTI did not work in a permanent teaching post of assistant professor/ associate professor or Professor in any universities.

While the notification for admissions to PG diploma courses is publicised widely in Malayalam newspapers, the vacancy positions appear only on its website.

Not publicising vacancy positions is a method usually adopted for backdoor appointments. A board of studies is a basic and mandatory feature of any academic institution of repute.

In the absence of it here, high-level arbitrariness, whims and fancies and individual interests decide the fate of students.

No panel of examiners evaluate answer sheets of Malayalam journalism students.

IIMC additional director general Manish Desai told DC that the vacancies were not advertised in the newspaper since they were contractual.

Kottayam centre deputy director Rejith Chandran refused to comment.