The opposition parties in Kerala on Friday, July 28, attacked Higher Education Minister R Bindu over her alleged interference in the appointment of college principals and demanded her resignation. Bindu was recently accused of allegedly tampering with the list of selected principals for 43 state-run Arts and Science colleges.
Based on a purported RTI reply, Bindu was accused of directing the Higher Education Department to consider the list of principals, which was approved by the Public Service Commission in order to fill the vacancies, as a "draft". The minister, however, denied these charges and mentioned that the state government was considering the complaints raised by certain candidates, as per a report by PTI.
Nonetheless, Opposition Leader VD Satheesan, alleged in the Assembly that Bindu interfered with the appointment because none of her "near and dear ones was included in the list based on merit". He further pointed out that 66 government colleges in the state were functioning without principals.
Meanwhile, Bindu said that initially a 67-member list was prepared by the selection panel to fill up the 55 existing vacancies in the state. "However, this list was later reduced to 43 by a sub-committee. We have to look into the legality of the formation of this particular sub-committee," she said.
"There were complaints that the list was prepared without considering the seniority or the credentials and hence the government decided to intervene," she added. The opposition, however, alleged that the higher education sector in Kerala was in shambles, as per PTI.
