Former member of the Kerala State Higher Education Council (KSHEC) executive council R. Jayaprakash has questioned the propriety of the State Level Academic Committee (SLAC) deciding on matters pertaining to the equivalency of courses.
Weighing in on the raging debate regarding the recent government order that included postgraduation in biotechnology as an eligibility qualification for teaching posts in Zoology and Botany, Dr. Jayaprakash said that the SLAC, constituted on the basis of a government order after being mooted by the current KSHEC dispensation, cannot overrule the powers conferred by Academic Councils by University Acts.
‘Incompetent’
The former Syndicate member of the Kerala University and Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit claimed that the SLAC, which comprised Vice Chancellor, was incompetent in taking such a decision.
“It is not an expert body on all subjects. It has limitations on specialised subjects of which the committee members are not experts. Only a specialised body like the Academic Council is empowered to take a call on such matters. The decision of the SLAC is illegal, unscientific and against the spirit of the UGC regulations of 2018. It went against the interests of the academic community,” Dr. Jayaprakash said.
According to him, the Academic Councils were empowered to decide which courses of other universities could be accepted as equivalent to those conducted by their university.
Senior professors
The body consisted of senior professors and student representatives.
Decisions on equivalency are taken on the basis of a thorough scrutiny of the syllabus of the subject concerned.
Teachers’ demand
Meanwhile, the Kerala University Teachers’ Organisation has submitted a representation to the Governor, seeking his intervention to withdraw the order.
It amounted to a negation of the academic autonomy of universities, they stated.