Kerala Technical University ombudsman delayed as P Sathasivam yet to name his pick

Thiruvananthapuram: Governor P. Sathasivam is yet to recommended the name of his nominee to the search committee for appointment as ombudsman of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University. The appointment of an ombudsman was announced by the technological university on January 17 following the suicide of Jishnu Prannoy of Nehru Engineering College, Pambadi, Palakkad. Sources in the technology university said that the person who is nominated by the governor would be chairman of the committee in which higher education principal secretary B. Srinivas would be the convenor.

The governing committee of the university had decided to identify a person not below the rank of the district judge as the ombudsman. The students will be allowed to directly give their complaints to the ombudsman, who would examine them and find solutions. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had held a meeting with the vice-chancellors and appointed a committee on February 2. MG University Vice-Chancellor Babu Sebastian is the convenor and Mr Kuncheria P. Isaac (APJ University), Mr M. K. C. Nair (Kerala University of Health Sciences) and Mr Muhammed Basheer (Calicut University) are members.

Mr Babu Sebastian told Deccan Chronicle that the committee had sought the opinion of professional universities like the technological university, Kerala University of Health Sciences and Kerala Agriculture University. The committee has to ensure that any steps to curb self-financing college do not violate the provisions of regulatory bodies. The committee had suggested the appointment of PTAs and student unions in colleges and also a monitoring mechanism to ensure that colleges do not harass students in the name of internal assessment.