New Delhi: The National Commission for Schedule Tribes has asked the ministry of science and technology to stop the recruitment process at Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, immediately as it is “not following the reservation policy as mandated by the government.”
The reservation policy of the institute came under scanner after a job applicant named Baiju AS Philumon, wrote to the commission in November 2018 to complain that it was not following rules for reservation in Group A appointments and for academic courses. The Group ‘A’ category considers applications for Professors, Assistant Professors, Associate Professors, Scientists and Engineers.
He informed the NCSTs that he had filed RTIs seeking information on the recruitment process in SCTIMST, which is an autonomous institution under the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and receives aid from the central government.
He said that as per the RTI replies, SCTIMST was not giving reservation for appointment of scientists and engineers in violation of rules, and further alleged that the institute did not reveal details interview board members, when having one SC/ST member in the interview panel is a must.
The NCST wrote to the institute on January 8 but got no reply, despite a warning that summons will be issued if a reply is not made within the stipulated time.
Now, the commission has informed the government that without following the reservation norms, the institute has gone ahead with the recruitment and asked it to stop the process.
“If there is a response from the institute let us know and issue order to stop the recruitment process in the institute. Intimate us in a week’s time regarding this,” said the letter from the commission to the government.
The spokesperson of the institute, Swapna Vamadevan, denied the charges and said it had also replied to the NCST letter. He said that recruitment for 14 posts was started on November 28, 2018, for various Group A posts, which included technical and scientific posts.
“The notification was issued in compliance with the reservation policy, which includes exemption for reservation available for Scientific and Technical Posts in Group ‘A category other than the entry cadre. The reservation policy the Institute is following was also disclosed in the notification,” said the statement from the spokesperson.
He also stated that SCTIMST had examined the complaint by Baiju and an interim reply was sent to the National Commission on January 7, seeking one week’s extension for furnishing a reply. A final reply was sent to the NCST January 15 with a copy marked to DST, said the statement.
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