Lessons of manipulation for top SCERT posting

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Close on the heels of the move to appoint an underqualified candidate as the Vice-Chancellor of Calicut University, the Education Department on Monday picked former Kerala University Registrar K A Hashim as the new director of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT).Hashim neither possesses the necessary qualification for the post nor was cleared of the allegation that he included fake research papers in his biodata submitted to various research organisations while serving as the Registrar.Moreover, an inquiry by the university had found him guilty of the charges.The pro-CPM Kerala School Teachers Association (KSTA) has come out against the appointment.“Hashim was accused of manipulating the biodata submitted along with the project proposals submitted to various funding agencies,” KSTA general secretary M Shajahan told Express.“Normally, only those with a PhD in Education were considered for the post,” he pointed out.“This was because the post needed an in-depth knowledge in curriculum development.Hashim doesn’t even have a BEd degree,” he added.