Kerala Guv urged to cancel, re-examine teaching staff appointments of former Kannur VC Raveendran

Thiruvananthapuram: A letter has been submitted to the Kerala Governor requesting the cancellation of all teaching staff appointments made by Dr Gopinath Raveendran, the former Vice Chancellor of Kannur University. 

In a letter submitted to Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and the incumbent VC of Kannur University, Save University Campaign Committee also questioned the online interviews conducted as part of the recruitment process.

All of the interviews were held online, with subject matter experts chosen from among the previous Vice-Chancellor's colleagues at various Delhi Universities. Furthermore, the candidates had no idea who had taken part in the interviews. Furthermore, the committee questions Kannur Varisty's decision to continue conducting job interviews online, as it did during the COVID-19. 

They also alleged that even on the day of the Supreme Court verdict against Dr. Gopinath Raveendran, the former VC gave a person of interest the first rank as Assistant Professor in the Geography Department. 

Last month, the Supreme Court of India quashed the reappointment of Dr Gopinath Raveendran as the Vice Chancellor of Kannur University. The apex court set aside the Kerala High Court judgment by considering four matters related to the re-appointment guidelines. 

The court specifically noted "unwarranted interference by the State Government" and observed that the Chancellor (Kerala Governor) "abdicated or surrendered" the statutory powers for re-appointing the VC.