Thiruvananthapuram: APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University, which has almost all engineering colleges in the state as affiliates, has begun a process of appointing an ombudsman for redressing the complaints of students.
The search committee appointed for the purpose has invited applications from retired professors with at least ten years of experience for the selection of Ombudsman on a part-time basis here.
Signed applications in hard and soft copies with bio-data, proof of experience and qualification in the prescribed proforma should reach the principal secretary, higher education department, Government Secretariat (Annex II), Thiruvananthapuram- 695 001 on or before November 24.
More details are available at www.kerala.gov.in, www.highereducation.kerala.gov.in or www.ktu.edu.in
The plan was announced by the university on January 17 last year in the wake of the suicide of engineering student Jishnu Pranoy of Nehru Engineering College, Pampady, Palakkad, alleging harassment by the management.
The All India Council for Technical Education (Establishment of Mechanism for Grievance Redressal) Regulations, 2012, has also called for setting up an ombudsman.
As per the regulations, a person who has been a judicial officer not below the rank of a district judge or a retired professor having not less than ten years of teaching experience can be appointed ombudsman.
The appointment has to be made from a panel of names suggested by a search committee appointed for this purpose.
As per the All India Council for Technical Education regulations, the ombudsman will have the power to hear any grievance of any student against the university or against any college affiliated to it after the student has availed himself of the grievance redressal mechanism in the college concerned.
In November 2017, the university appointed a grievance and redressal cell for addressing complaints of students.
The creation of a legal entity comes in the wake of mounting complaints from students in self-financing engineering colleges in the state.The search committee consisted of retired chief secretary Nalini Netto and former higher education principal secretary B. Sreenivas.
The students can submit their grievances on the telephone 0471-2785608 or email redress@ktu.edu.in.
V Praseedalekhsmi, a retired principal of Cooperative Academy of Professional Education (CAPE), is the joint director of the Grievance and Redressal Cell.
