Schoolteacher appointed lecturer in Chandigarh govt college for course it doesn’t offer
Bimal Kumar Gupta was suspended from GMSSS-32, in May 2017, allegedly for sexual harassment, but reinstated in January 2019
A schoolteacher has been deputed as lecturer in medical lab technology (MLT) by the UT education department at the Post Graduate Government College (PGGC), Sector 11, which interestingly does not offer the course. The teacher is also not qualified to teach the subject, it has been learnt, and the appointment appears to have been made in violation of University Grants Commission (UGC) rules.
Bimal Kumar Gupta, the teacher in question, was suspended from the Government Model Senior Secondary School (GMSSS), Sector 32, in May 2017, allegedly for sexual harassment but reinstated in January 2019.
Gupta’s transfer orders, issued on January 29, 2020, by Rubinderjit Singh Brar, director, school education as well as higher education, reads, “Upon his reinstatement, he is deputed as lecturer in MLT in Post Graduate Government College, Sector 11, Chandigarh, with immediate effect to utilise his services in the college. He will continue to draw his salary from GMSSS, Sector 32, Chandigarh.”
Hindustan Times (HT) has a copy of the order.
Confirming the development, Gupta said, the “college does not have a course in MLT so I have been posted to the microbiology department as a lecturer. It has been 10 days since I have joined.” Asking HT to seek clarifications on his eligibility from the education department, Gupta added, “I am a school cadre teacher.”
UGC NET, PhD minimum qualifications
Gupta’s appointment appears to be in violation UGC rules framed in 2018, which say the minimum qualification of college and university teachers is UGC NET (National Eligibility Test) or PhD.
Gupta was suspended from the school after three Class 11 students accused him of harassment. A committee formed by Brar later recorded the statements of the victims and the accused, on the basis of which an FIR was registered against him.
However, the Punjab and Haryana high court on November 18, 2018, quashed the FIR as both the parties had appeared before a local magistrate and amicably settled the matter after reaching a compromise.
Brar’s response, when asked about Gupta’s appointment, was, “Since there was a shortage of teachers in college, he was deputed there. It is a short term measure. Given his background, after due consideration, it was decided that he should not be posted in the same school.”