Promotions under CAS in Manipur University – Why a few delayed and obstructed?

Jarnail Singh
I joined as Administrator of Manipur University (MU) on 12th October 2018. In the first month itself more than two dozen faculty members requested me, one after another, for holding their Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) promotion meetings, which had not been held since 2015. Many complained that their past services had not been linked due to pressure from a few senior faculty members even though UGC guidelines specifically provided for this. While some faculty members in MU had come from different universities, some were from Manipur Government colleges. On checking I found that CAS meetings, which should be held twice in one year, had not been held regularly for last 10 years. Surprisingly no CAS meeting was held in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
To encourage faculty members and also to insulate them from the whims of administration, UGC regulations provide for CAS promotions based on length of service, publication of papers etc. The Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) of a university calculates Academic Performance Index (API) of faculty members which decides their eligibility to higher grades and also holding of CAS meeting.
Strangely in most cases, CAS promotions had not been given due to a notification dated 14th August 2013 of Joint Registrar of MU, which required faculty members to submit their applications along with their API scores to the Registrar at least three months before their due dates of promotions. Even though this notification was a facilitator, yet this was used to deny and delay promotions of a large number of faculty members.
Keeping in view the discontentment among large number of faculty members, on my suggestion, the Executive Council of MU on 16 April 2019 discussed this matter and decided to set up a committee under Prof. Ch Yashawanta Singh, Dean of School of Humanities, with Dr RK Nimai Singh IAS (Retd) and Dr MA Sikandar, Registrar of Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) Hyderabad, as members to examine grievances of faculty members as per UGC regulations and recommend solutions. In all, 62 faculty members submitted their grievances to the committee. The committee held extensive discussions on three days and went through all representations, relevant personal files, documents and official records.
While the committee was submitting a report to me, Dr M. A. Sikandar, one of the members informed that the IQAC in MU had not been functioning as per laid down procedure. That is why about five dozen faculty members were up in arms against IQAC and MU administration. These comments of a neutral person from Hyderabad, who was an expert in service matters of university faculty as well as UGC regulations, surprised me.
The committee report contained general recommendations as well as specific ones for each faculty member who had submitted representation. The committee recommended withdrawal of notification dated 14th August 2013 which did not have backing of any statute or rule. It was surprising that such a facilitating notification was so brazenly misinterpreted and misused by IQAC to deny promotions to a large number of eligible faculty members. On 6th August 2019, MU issued an order which clarified that 14th August 2013 notification cannot be used to deny or delay promotion of any faculty member and that it was a facilitator for timely promotions.
The Executive Committee of MU discussed and approved the report. The services of eligible faculty members were linked as per UGC regulations and cases of about 55 faculty members were processed for promotion under CAS. I was astonished to see how a few senior faculty members advised me, again and again, against linking of eligible services of junior faculty members as well as holding of their CAS meetings. I have never seen in my service either in the Manipur government or Government of India where a small group of seniors were trying to harm juniors as I saw in MU. I am sure that if I had not joined MU, this situation would have continued without rectification. Such was the fear of delay of promotion among junior faculty members that on 30 th November 2020 when I was relinquishing charge of Administrator, two of them were requesting me again and again to hold their CAS meetings on 30th November itself, as they were not sure what next VC would do with their cases after I leave MU.
To ensure that CAS meetings are held regularly, on my suggestion, the Academic Council meeting on 13th December 2019 passed a resolution that VCs and Registrars should hold CAS meetings twice each year and that in case VC and Registrar do not hold CAS meetings, they must explain reasons for not doing so in next Academic Council meeting.
The writer is former Chief Secretary of Manipur and also served as Administrator of Manipur University