[Professor Appointment] Teaching Experience Can Only Be One That Is Gained After Acquiring Essential PG Qualification: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday reiterated that the teaching experience prescribed under the Special Rules in force for promotion to the post of Professor (in the Department of Prasuti Tantra and Striroga) has to be read along with the provisions of Rule 10 (ab) of Part II Kerala State & Subordinate Service Rules (KS & SSR) and thereby, it observed that teaching experience can only be one that is gained after the acquisition of the essential qualification.Division Bench consisting of Justice A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Mohammed Nias C P observed that,When we read the provisions in the Special Rules along with Rule 10 (ab) of Part II KS & SSR, as the Tribunal did in the instant case, the conclusion is inescapable that the teaching experience of ten years mentioned for the post of Professor is one that has to be gained after obtaining the basic PG qualification required for the post.Brief Factual Matrix The petitioners were filed challenging an order passed by the Kerala Administrative Tribunal.An Application was moved before the Tribunal by the Associate Professor in the Department of Prasuti Tantra and Striroga in the Government Ayurveda College, Kannur aggrieved by the decision of the Departmental Promotion Committee [DPC] that convened to consider the candidates for promotion to the post of Professor to a vacancy that arose with effect from 26.9.2014. DPC had decided to consider the candidature of the applicant along with two other candidates, who, according to the applicant, were not qualified in terms of the Special Rules in force for promotion to the post of Professor in the Department of Prasuti Tantra and Striroga. Per the said Rules, the post of Professor [Prasuti Tantra and Striroga] was to be filled by promotion from among Reader (Associate Professor) and, in the absence of qualified persons for promotion, by direct recruitment. Promotion to the category of Professor is based on cadre seniority in the concerned Department and the candidate is to be chosen from a select list.The Applicant's case is that although the other two candidates obtained their PG qualification within the extended period granted under the Special Rules in force, however, the period spent by them in various posts where PG qualification was prescribed as the essential qualification could not be counted towards the teaching experience required for the post of Professor for which also PG Degree was prescribed as an essential qualification. Findings of the Tribunal The tribunal after considering the issue had held that Rule 10 (ab) of Part II KS & SSR had to be read along with the Special Rules that prescribed qualifications for the post of Professor and when so read, the qualifying teaching experience for the post had to be seen as teaching experience gained after acquiring the PG qualification.The Tribunal had therefore declared that the applicant was alone qualified for promotion to the post of Professor [Prasuti Tantra and Striroga] citing that on the date of arising of the vacancy in the post of Professor the petitioner had ten years service inclusive of five years in the Assistant Professor category from 20.1.2006, whereas the other two candidates acquired the ten years experience only in 2015 and 2016 respectively.Aggrevied by the order of the Tribunal, the present petitions were filed. Contentions RaisedThe Counsel appearing for the petitioners and the Government Pleader contended that the other two candidates had rendered service as Tutor, Lecturer and Reader based on the exemption that they had obtained in terms of the Special Rules from obtaining the PG qualification and their service in the posts concerned had therefore to count towards the ten years of experience contemplated under the Special Rules for the post of Professor. The Counsel further contended that since there was no prescription in the Special Rules that the experience had to be gained after the acquisition of the PG qualification, the provision of Rule 10 (ab) Part II KS & SSR could have no application as the said Rule itself contemplates its application only in cases where a contrary intention is not expressed in the Service Rules concerned and here the Special Rules governing recruitment to the post of Professor speaks only of the requirement of ten years of teaching experience in the concerned subject of which five years experience had to be as Reader or Assistant Professor in the Government Ayurveda College. On the contrary, the Counsel appearing for the respondent submitted that the provisions of the Special Rules have to be read in the backdrop of the provisions of the Indian Medicine Central Council Act and the Regulations issued thereunder since the Minimum Standards of Education prescribed under the Central Act and Regulations cannot be diluted by the Special Rules.The Counsel argued that the Special Rules only extended them time to obtain the minimum qualifications prescribed for the posts and did not waive the requirement of obtaining the...

[Professor Appointment] Teaching Experience Can Only Be One That Is Gained After Acquiring Essential PG Qualification: Kerala High Court

Athira Prasad

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