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Mangalore University suspends asst professor for dereliction of duty

He does not possess SSLC certificate too, his PG course not recognised

Mangalore University has placed under suspension an Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Consciousness & Yogic Sciences.

The move has been taken after nearly four years of a series of articles by DH (Mangalore university recruitments mired in controversies dated November 27, 2013; Candidates demand probe into M’lore varsity recruitment process dated November 28, 2013; and Eminent educationist writes open letter to M’lore varsity VC dated December 2, 2013).

According to the Mangalore University order dated August 19, 2017 and signed by the registrar – a copy of which is with DH – assistant professor Dr Shamasundar J has been placed under suspension with immediate effect pending enquiry into allegations made against him, until further orders.

The charges against him include not taking class for students of 2nd and 4th semester which commenced on January 16, 2017 thus affecting career of students; not co-operating with the chairman in day-to-day activities; abstaining from department meetings; leaving the department after signing the attendance register without taking classes even for 1st and 3rd semester students.

It may be noted here that 11 students had filed a complaint against Dr Shamsundar on June 7, 2017 that he was not taking classes, which affected their studies. Subsequently, it is also reported by the Registrar (Evaluation) on August 7, 2017, that the assistant professor had abstained from exam work assigned to him and did not accept communication from the Registrar (Evaluation), which amounts to dereliction of duty and attracts criminal proceedings under Sections 73, 74 and 75 of the Karnataka State Universities Act, 2000.

Incidentally, Dr Shamsundar is facing another departmental enquiry as per the Syndicate meeting held on December 20, 2016 and is said to have not cooperated to complete the enquiry.

“His non-cooperation and unethical and indifferent attitude have resulted in dislocation of the academic activities and research work as well as affected largely the interest of the students. He has, thus, created an unpleasant and unhealthy atmosphere and also tarnished the image of the department in particular and university in general. As his attitude is affecting the morale of the students, teachers as well as employees thereby setting a bad precedence in the campus, the matter was placed before the Syndicate for its consideration and decision,” according to Registrar K M Lokesh.

When contacted, Mangalore University vice chancellor Prof K Byrappa said that the Syndicate at its meeting on August 18 decided to place Dr Shamsundar under suspension and initiate departmental enquiry. “Besides this, there are other enquires pending against him too,” the VC added.

No SSLC certificate

Quite interestingly, the details obtained through the RTI Act also reveal that Dr Shamsundar’s appointment was not done as per the UGC regulation and the University statute, as he had not submitted his SSLC certificate at the time of his joining in Nov 2013, which is mandatory. Till date too, he has not submitted the same. Instead, he had submitted a “copy of the transfer certificate” and the university accepted the same, for reasons better known to the university!

On the other hand, he did his MSc Yoga (one year) through lateral entry from Annamalai University. Incidentally, the Mangalore university overlooked the proceedings of a committee which concluded that the degrees awarded by Annamalai University are not equivalent to MSc Yogic Science of Mangalore university. Very interestingly, in 2012, the year in which he pursued the course, the UGC had not permitted the Annamalai University to conduct the said course.

His application to the university to recognise him as research guide in Human Consciousness & Yogic Science Department too was turned down by the university for the same reason.