A big blow to many genuine appointees

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:  The Lok Ayuktha recommendation and the subsequent decision of the Kerala University Syndicate to scrap the entire appointments germinated from the suspectedly corrupt episode came as a rude shock to many assistants who had secured a job after a long wait and put in their services in the varsity itself for around three years.Though there is no gainsaying of the fact that there were indeed malpractices in the selection procedure, there are scores of appointees who had made it by virtue of their merit. Political rivalry spiraling, the case is viewed as a fait accompli by many, for whom, to appear for  another test as ordered by the Lok Ayuktha holds no guarantee that they will find a place in the list again. That the society will view them as tainted in the scam is another heartburn. “Many paint us in bad light though there is no mention in the recommendation that any of us did something fraud for getting the job. We are not against clearing the black sheep off the list. But that should not be at the cost of our lives and future,” says a woman employee, who does not want to be identified, with a heavy mind. Paragraph 51 in the recommendation by Upa Lok Ayuktha Justice G Sasidharan is giving a ray of hope for them. It says: “There is nothing uncommon in the relatives of political leaders and neighbours and relatives of somebody working in the office getting appointment in various departments. In such cases it is not possible to presume that those candidates got appointment because of political patronage. In the absence of evidence to show that there was political influence, it is not fair,” said another woman set to lose her job, in tears. Out of the 180 candidates who joined duty, 30 had quit availing of better jobs. Except three among them, all others such as Anupama of Poojappura, Raji of Pattom, Anoop of Neyyatinkara and Preethi of Alappuzha, who got jobs which are equal to or higher in grade leave no ground of suspicion on their merit for employment in the university. Many of them are post- graduates, M Phil holders and even engineering graduates. Moreover, 80 persons in the list were already employed in some government departments, when they entered the ill-fated list. “Many of us are not in a position to appear for another test.Situations in our life had changed during these years. In fact, we did not opt for other jobs on the strength of being an employee of a reputed University,” states one.Incidentally, most of the employees in the list are affiliated to the staff unions with left affinity. “We are victims of the political enmity between university staff unions,” said another employee. Now all their eyes are on the High Court, where those losing their jobs had approached for mercy.