Karnataka’s higher education minister, Dr CN Ashwathnarayan said that the deputation of teaching staff of government first-grade colleges was cancelled in the best interests of students.

This came after MLAs belonging to various parties and MLCs including MLC Maritibbe Gowda had urged on the floor of both the houses to cancel the deputation of the teaching staff of government first-grade colleges and the decision to cancel the deputation was taken considering their demand.

Responding to the sit-in protest by Maritibbe Gowda in front of his office, he said, “The present statement of Maritibbe Gowda, alleging, the deputation of lecturers has been cancelled suddenly is baseless. There were many rounds of debates and deliberations before we could arrive at this.”

“As per the transfer rules 2021, the deputation of teaching staff is not allowed. Now, the cancellation of deputation is based on the existing rules, keeping in mind the best interest of students, particularly North Karnataka students”, Dr Ashwathnarayan claimed.

The cancellation of deputation of the teaching staff was postponed for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic and recently when this was taken up, there were pleas to postpone it for a week, said the minister.

“As many teaching staff were working at different locations on deputation, the original colleges to those they were appointed had to depend largely on guest faculty. In view of this, many MLAs who are also the heads of college development committees had demanded to send back those who were working on deputation to their respective original colleges. It is ironic that Maritibbe Gowda held a sit-in protest in front of my office forgetting all these,” he said. 

Over 700 teaching staff were working on deputation. Out of this, more than 150 lecturers were from the ‘E’ zone which covers first-grade colleges at the hobali level and around 400 were from the ‘D’ zone which covers first-grade colleges at the taluk level. So, in all, over 400 teaching staff was working at locations of the higher zone, and this resulted in hampering academic activities in rural regions at hobli and taluk levels, he explained.

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