'Period Spent By Teacher To Pursue PhD Can Be Counted As Teaching Experience' : Kerala High Court Allows Priya Varghese's Appeal

The Kerala High Court on Thursday set aside the order of the Single Judge that directed the Kannur University to re-examine the credentials of Priya Varghese to be appointed as Associate Professor at Kannur University. Priya Varghese is the wife of K.K. Ragesh, private secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. In November 2022, a Single Bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran had held that Priya Varghese did not possess the requisite teaching experience, to be appointed as Associate Professor at the Department of Malayalam at Kannur University and directed the competent authority of the University to reconsider her credentials and decide whether she should continue on the Rank List. Dr.Joseph Skariah, who was ranked after Varghese in the Rank List, had filed the writ petition challenging the inclusion of Varghese in the List stating that she was not qualified for the post of Associate Professor as she did not have the prescribed 8 years of teaching experience prescribed.In an appeal by Priya Varghese, a division bench of Justice A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Mohammed Nias C P set aside the order of the single bench and held that the period spent by Priya Varghese on pursuing her Ph.D. degree under the Faculty Development Programme could not be excluded while considering the period of teaching experience. Regulation 3.11 of the UGC Regulations, 2018 was the relevant provision here, which reads as :"The time taken by candidates to acquire M.Phil. and/or Ph.D. Degree shall not be considered as teaching/research experience to be claimed for appointment to the teaching positions. Further the period of active service spent on pursuing Research Degree simultaneously with teaching assignment without taking any kind of leave, shall be counted as teaching experience for the purpose of direct recruitment/promotion. Regular faculty members upto twenty percent of the total faculty strength (excluding faculty on medical/maternity leave) shall be allowed by their respective institutions to take study leave for pursuing Ph.D. degree. (emphasis supplied)”.Interpreting this provision, the division bench held that the Ph.D period of candidates who are not at faculty members will be excluded from teaching experience. However, if the research degree is pursued by regular faculty members simultaneous with the teaching assignment, then the period will be counted as teaching experience.The Court observed that:“The prohibition against inclusion of the time taken for acquiring a Ph.D. degree in the computation of teaching/research experience is one that applies to ‘candidates’ by which term is intended a person who is not working as a teacher in any institution at the time of applying for the teaching post in question. ‘Faculty members’, on the other hand, refers to persons who are already working as teachers in an institution at the time of applying for the teaching post in question, and for them, the period spent on pursuing a research degree simultaneously with teaching assignment and without taking any kind of leave, will count towards teaching experience. In other words, merely on account of their having pursued a research degree simultaneous with their teaching assignment, their research period will not be excluded. Similarly, even those regular faculty members, upto 20% of the total faculty strength, who have availed study leave to pursue the Ph.D. programme under the Faculty Development Programme, will get the benefit of including the period spent on pursuing a research degree in the teaching/research experience stipulated for the teaching post that is notified for appointment.The division bench noted that during the said period, the appellant was having service lien at the Assistant Professor post at Sree Vivekananda College Kunnamkulam. Decision of the Single BenchSingle Judge held that the experience gained by Varghese while on deputation under the Faculty Development Programme at Kannur University, and as Director of Student Services at the Kannur University, could not be treated as teaching/research experience for the purposes of Regulation 4.1.II of the UGC Regulations, 2018. Based on this finding, the University was asked to reconsider her eligibility to the post. Writ Petition Was Bad For Non-Joinder of Parties The Counsel for Varghese argued that the writ petition was bad for non-joinder of necessary parties. It was argued that Rank List was published by Kannur University which was not a party to the petition. The Single Judge had issued directions to the University for compliance, without making it a party, it was contended. The Counsel for Dr. Joseph Skariah argued that the Registrar of the University was made a party to the petition and as per Section 14 of the Kannur University Act, 1996, Suits by or against the University are to be instituted by or against the Registrar. However, the Court held that the Writ Petition was bad for non-joinder of parties observing as below: “the provisions of...

'Period Spent By Teacher To Pursue PhD Can Be Counted As Teaching Experience' : Kerala High Court Allows Priya Varghese's Appeal

Sheryl Sebastian

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