In an RTI, AAP’s Raj Kumar Paswan mentions serious lapses in hiring procedure of non-teaching staff
In what appears to be a major setback for Delhi University (DU) administration, a recent RTI filed by Aam Aadmi Party’s Raj Kumar Paswan has revealed cases of serious interference in the hiring procedure of non-teaching staff. The RTI clearly mentions nine people were hired without following proper procedure; four were hired despite not clearing the written examination. If that was not enough, four were hired after their marks were mysteriously increased and one person was hired despite not appearing for the final interview. Interestingly, the selection committee for this recruitment included the pro vice chancellor (PVC) Sudhish Pachauri and the then Registrar Alka Sharma.
The controversy dated back to February this year when the recruitment process for 255 non-teaching, administrative positions. The results of the written tests were declared in April and those selected were called for a typing test in June. A total of 129 people cleared the final test and the interview. However, among these 129, eight recruits were actually nowhere to be seen in the original list of those who cleared the preliminary tests and ironically one was shown absent for the final interview.
According to the RTI reply received by Paswan and another activist Rajeev Prashar, the selection committee took out two lists of people who cleared the written test. “The first list was out on April 23 and another list of 39 more people was out on April 24. However, that list was not shared with anyone. However, four people from this list of 39 were hired. They were Babita Sharma, Chetan Vats, Suman and Ravinder Singh,” said Paswan.
While this is just one case of wrongful employment, four more people were hired by false means. As per the documents presented in the RTI, a copy of which is with The Pioneer, the marks of four people were changed to make them clear the rounds. “Surendra Singh Bhandari had a score of 128 out of 250, which was changed in the final scorecard to 138. Similarly Ankit Kumar went from 121 to 131, Sunil Singh from the SC category went from 120 to 125 and Pooja had a different breakup of the score than what was written in the earlier marksheet,” informed Paswan.
One person was also recruited after missing the interview altogether. The documents show the minutes of the special committee meeting where Abhishek, the interviewee, was marked absent. However, in the final list, his roll number was mentioned among the recruits.
Meanwhile, Paswan who is now going to take up this issue with the University Grants Commission (UGC) said that with this wrongful recruitment, the quality of staff being employed at DU has diminished. “The typists in the administration type with one finger because they don’t know how to type. This means that they cleared the typing tests wrongfully. Also many people have been hired because of their relatives. Babita Sharma, who is one of those hired without passing the written exam, also has her father-in-law working in the South Campus. There is clear bias in this judgement and we want the Government to intervene,” he added.