Osmania University vice-chancellor denies allegations of harassment by teachers association

HYDERABAD: Osmania University (OU) vice-chancellor Molugaram Kumar on Sunday denied the allegations of harassment levelled against him by the OU Teachers' Association (OUTA) in a letter submitted to Governor Jishnu Dev Verma on Saturday.
In the letter, OUTA president B Manohar accused the VC of consistently "dodging and delaying" the relieving of professor P Ramesh Babu of the mechanical engineering department, who was recently appointed as the registrar of Palamuru University. "It is a clear violation of university rules. Executive members of OUTA tried to meet him regarding the handover letter of Prof Babu. But, the VC refused to meet. This is causing distress to the faculty member," Manohar told TOI.
Responding to the charge, the VC told TOI that he was unnecessarily being dragged into the issue, and that it was the principal of the OU engineering college who was yet to issue clearance.
"He (Ramesh Babu) made a mistake during the evaluation process in a recent examination, over which the principal formed a committee and sought an explanation from him. But he failed to provide it. Moreover, Palamuru University should have communicated earlier to us regarding Prof Babu's appointment as it will be difficult for to replace a professor in the middle of a semester. A few others have also left like this over the past three months. I would have met the OUTA executive members yesterday had there not been a medical emergency involving one of our professors," the VC said.
The OUTA claimed that the VC showed a consistent pattern of remaining unavailable during office hours, making it difficult for the faculty members to approach him regarding academic and administrative matters.
"These are all baseless claims. My PA can be contacted to inquire about my schedule, which has been preoccupied lately due to multiple meetings and events. Yesterday itself, we presented the budget and completed the executive council meeting. We have also conducted standing committees, executive council (EC), and other significant meetings. No file is pending with the administration except for some court cases and service matters," the VC said.
When asked about the recent circular issued by the university authorities banning protests and sit-ins by students within its administrative buildings, departments, and colleges, the VC said, "I am reiterating that the recent circular does not ban protests on the campus but inside the administrative buildings so that the work of the faculty does not get hampered."
‘Selective targeting'
"The VC is trying to deviate from the issue. Around two years ago, while uploading the marks of a student, Prof Babu mistakenly uploaded incorrect marks. He later submitted an explanation regarding this. It is not an issue to be escalated this far. The VC cannot refuse to relieve Prof Babu as per UGC norms. Why is he selectively targeting Prof Babu?," said the OUTA president. The association added that the VC has limited knowledge of the university's rules and regulations and has shown minimal interest in addressing concerns of staff.