Asst prof jobs: Channi govt ignored red flags raised by then GNDU VC

JASPAL SINGH, WHOSE OPINION WAS SOUGHT BY THE HIGHER EDU DEPT, HAD WARNED AGAINST IGNORING UGC NORMS, SAYING THAT IT WOULD NOT WITHSTAND JUDICIAL SCRUTINY

- Vishal Rambani

The recruitment of 1,158 assistant professors in Punjab’s government colleges, which were struck down by the Supreme Court recently, was carried out despite a clear warning from the then Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) vice-chancellor Jaspal Singh, whose opinion was sought by the state higher education department in 2021.

In a stinging indictment of the recruitment exercise carried out by the then Charanjit Singh Channi-led Congress in the run-up to the 2022 Punjab assembly polls, the Supreme Court, on July 18, held the selection was not just arbitrary but also appeared driven by ‘narrow political gains’ aimed at garnering electoral advantage.