Keralam Higher Education dept seeks explanation from Calicut University over pro-V-C’s appointment

A view of the University of Calicut (file)

The Higher Education department of the Keralam government has sought a detailed explanation from the Registrar, University of Calicut, over the appointment of P. Rasheed Ahammed as its pro-Vice-Chancellor (PVC).

Mr. Ahammed was serving as Professor, Department of Arabic, KTM College of Advanced Studies, Karuvarakundu, Malappuram, an aided institution affiliated with the university, before assuming charge as PVC. In a letter to the Registrar and the manager of the college on November 3, the department under secretary asked how he was relieved of his duties from his parent institution and permitted to take over as PVC on deputation without obtaining prior sanction from the government, which was the competent authority to approve such appointments.

“You are also requested to clarify the circumstances under which the said arrangement was made and the authority under which the relieving and joining orders were issued, despite the absence of government sanction,” the letter said.

Meanwhile, C.D. Sebastian, Registrar, told The Hindu on Thursday (November 5, 2026) that an explanation clarifying the university’s position would be communicated to the government soon.

A request for Mr. Ahammed’s deputation had already been requested, he added.

However, pro-Left members in the university’s Syndicate demanded the resignation of Vice-Chancellor P. Raveendran and Mr. Ahammed, alleging procedural irregularities in the latter’s appointment. They also sought an investigation by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) into the alleged misuse of official powers.

In a statement, the Syndicate members M.B. Faisal, T. Mohammed Saleem, K. Mohamed Haneefa, K. Pradeep Kumar, P.P. Sumod, MLA, and P. Sushanth, the pro-Left Syndicate members, said the department’s intervention vindicated the objections they raised against the appointment earlier.

They alleged that V-C had introduced the proposal as an out-of-agenda item at a Syndicate meeting and pushed it through despite opposition from them. They claimed that the appointment order was issued at 3 p.m. on the day of the Syndicate meeting, without completing the prescribed procedures for deputing a teacher from an aided college to another position.

According to them, the process requires the university to obtain the college management’s no-objection certificate and secure the necessary approvals through the Directorate of Collegiate Education and the Higher Education department before relieving the teacher from a post.

The Syndicate members also questioned the reported use of the V-C’s emergency powers under Section 10(13) of the Calicut University Act to facilitate the payment of salary to the PVC. They maintained that, in the absence of the requisite government-approved deputation order, the payment of salary would be legally untenable. They sought a VACB investigation under the Prevention of Corruption Act into the circumstances surrounding the appointment and his alleged exercise of official powers.