IMPHAL, January 9: The Supreme Court of India upholding the Manipur High Court’s order has cancelled the appointment of three regular Principals including the Oriental, Lilong Haoreibi and Manipur College, on Manipur on January 5.
A statement issued by Federation of Government College Teachers’ Associations, (FEGOCTA) Manipur has said that a division bench of Manipur High Court consisting of the Chief Justice and Justice N Kotiswar on October 5, 2015 cancelled the appointment of the said three principals.
The reason behind the cancellation was that their recommendation by Manipur Public Service Commission and subsequent appointments by the Government of Manipur are ‘not valid’. This is because the three “lack of essential qualification of the experience of research guidance” required as per UGC Regulations 2010, it said.
It maintained that FEGTA had supported the cases challenging of three principals both in Manipur High Court and Supreme Court with Advocate Dr R.K Deepak Singh represented the respondents in the Supreme Court.
FEGOCTA appealed the Government of Manipur to execute the Supreme Court and Manipur High Court Orders at the earliest before reiterating its demands to constitute Manipur Higher Education Service and an effective State Higher Education Council.
It said both will help prevent future distortion of UGC regulations and misadventure by the Government officials in higher education.
Acknowledging that bureaucrats are the top advisors to the political leadership in higher education and even they head the autonomous higher academic bodies in Manipur for decades, it alleged that they (bureaucrats) have failed to provide proper inputs to the political leadership.
This along with other factors has caused distortion in the implementation of UGC regulations like the recruitment of the Principals, not granting allowance like SCA and TA since 6th pay implementation, no promotion of the eligible teachers since 2009 etc, it continued.
The Government claims that they ‘do not have funds’ yet public money along with time and energy of the officials has been used in defending the violations of the national policies and rules in the courts, it observed.
It claimed that actions of the Government have not only demoralised the college teaching community, but also inflict ultimate disturbance and loss to the students who are the pillars of future Manipur society thereby derailing the higher education administration to a complete chaos and fall.