The administration of the National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) located at Jatni near Bhubaneswar very much resembles like a watermelon green outside but red and red inside.
Reportedly, a disturbing evidence of trickery has come to the fore with regard to the recruitment of Assistant Professor/Reader F position to the Department of English conducted on April 27, 2017. Three candidates were finally shortlisted after a rigorous interview having a technically flawless exterior but smelling something fishy at the inner governance level.
Dr Ujjwal Jana of the Pondicherry Central University, who was a candidate in the final fray, has made some shocking revelations about how Dr Amarjeet Nayak was finally chosen to the post by the NISER administration. Dr Jana questions the raison-d’être of the final selection on the basis that the finally-selected candidate Dr Nayak’s CV is far more behind him in comparison to and in contrast with his research publications, research guidance, research experience and in teaching experiences as well.
In the NISER’s advertisement, it was clearly stated, “Candidates should have at least five years of postdoctoral research/teaching experience with high quality publications in high impact journals. Candidates should have demonstrated the capability to lead independent research programs.”
While Dr Jana has many research publications in journals of repute and has carried out independent research besides completing many UGC-sponsored projects of much value and interest, he has also ably sustained and substantiated in independent research ability by successfully guiding five MPhil scholars while continuing to guide seven PhD scholars till date.
As regards the criteria of postdoctoral research, Dr Jana is at his quintessential best by being selected as a Post Doctoral Research Fellow, leipzig University, Germany, under Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) International Collaborative Project 2013. He was also a Fulbright Visiting Faculty (August 2007-May 2008), India Studies Academic Program, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA.
Dr Jana was also selected for Post Doctoral Research Fellowship, Department of English, University of Johannesburg, South Africa ICSSR (India) -NIHSS (South Africa) Joint Research Project in Social Sciences 2016-2017. Although both Dr Jana and Dr Nayak had strong research backgrounds from IIT, Kharagpur and IIT, Kanpur, respectively, the former’s claim of excellence over the latter can be very well-discerned by impartial and independent scholars of repute if this matter is referred to them once again by competent authority for the sake of justice and fair play, advocates Dr Jana from Pondicherry over phone to this correspondent.
The needle of suspicion points at the initial stage of presentation, where only one resource person from a local university like Utkal witnessed it, that would have been better by inviting one or two more experts from institutions of national importance to join the lone expert so as to lend it an impartial character. The presence of one resource person at the presentation level is nothing but a marriage of convenience for the blue-eyed boy of the NISER administration, opine some professors of other universities preferring anonymity.
The question further stares us at our face: if the entire interview was video recorded to prove the impartial character of the interview conductedIJ It is also known from reliable sources that the products of a particular institute are being treated like European whites while the those of other IITs and other institutions of national importance are treated as niggers although the products of national institutes are of the same level. After investigation, it is learnt that the products or associates of a particular IIT are availing preference as most of the persons of the said IIT institute are placed in key positions at this premier institute.
A glaring discrepancy of omission and commission allegedly committed by the NISER is that it has flouted all norms of reservation policies of the Government of India although it is directly working under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and under the very nose of the Prime Minister.
When contacted for clarification, the NISER Director was not available for giving any comment and his assistant went on procrastinating the date of a meeting of this correspondent with the Director as he is in dual charge being explained by his assistant from time to time. Registrar of the institution Dr Abhaya Nayak, after repeated telephone calls from this side, drew a blank and suggested us to contact Prof Bedangadas Mohanty who was the proper person to give us the needed reply. Again, after repeated calls in his three landline numbers, Dr Mohanty was not available for comment.
Intellectuals now wonder how a premier institute of higher research of excellence like the NISER has allegedly violated its national character when it is expected to rise above partisan and regional considerations in its lofty task of inventive research and nation building.