Telangana HC tells IIIT Basara not to recruit new guest faculty, easing current employees

Hyderabad: In a relief to the guest faculty members working in IIIT Basara (Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies), Telangana High Court directed the university administration to continue their services and not replace them with another set of guest faculty.

Justice Abhinand Kumar Shavili passed orders to this effect on Wednesday while hearing the Writ Petition filed by D Chandrashekar and 40 other faculty challenging the university’s notification to recruit new guest faculty. The petitioners informed the Court that they were hired in May of this year after undergoing an interview and demo classes. Suddenly, in the middle of the academic year, the university issued another notification calling for fresh recruitment in their posts.

Government pleader for education C Vani Reddy submitted that while the May notification stipulated a remuneration of Rs 500 per hour to the guest faculty, the present notice has a consolidated pay of Rs 30,000 per month.

The counsel for the petitioners informed the Court that since the petitioners had worked for the entire duration of the previous academic year as well, they assumed that their selection in May of this year was for the entirety of the present academic year. Such a recruitment exercise in the middle of the academic year would put the guest faculty to severe hardship. It would also be violative of the Supreme Court judgment that a temporary employee can not replace another temporary employee.

The judge, in the interim order, directed the university to continue the petitioners’ service and not replace them with another set of guest faculty.