Osmania University Teachers’ Association writes to Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Verma about harassment by Vice Chancellor

OUTA president Prof B Manohar lists out several issues, including that of not relieving Prof P Ramesh Babu of Mechanical Engineering department, OUCE, who was recently appointed as Palamuru University Registrar

Hyderabad: Osmania University Teachers’ Association (OUTA) on Saturday raised the issue of alleged harassment by OU Vice Chancellor Prof M Kumar with Governor Jishnu Dev Verma, who is also OU Chancellor, seeking intervention and action.

In a letter to the Chancellor, OUTA president Prof B Manohar listed out several issues, including that of not relieving Prof P Ramesh Babu of the Mechanical Engineering department, OUCE, who was recently appointed as the Palamuru University Registrar.

Despite Prof Babu making a request to be relieved from the duties a week ago, the V-C failed to relieve him and has been consistently dodging the issue, Prof Manohar said. He pointed out that this delay was in clear violation of university rules, causing undue distress to the faculty member.

Further, the OUTA apprised the Chancellor about the V-C’s unavailability during official office hours, making it difficult for faculty members to address urgent academic and administrative matters.

Alleging that Prof Kumar displayed a lack of concern for the teachers and students problems, the OUTA said the V-C has not shown willingness to listen to the issues raised or take steps toward resolving them.

The V-C demonstrates a limited grasp of the university’s rules and regulations and has shown minimal interest in addressing the numerous issues that have emerged within the institution, Prof Manohar said.

“The OU is in turmoil due to a recently issued circular prohibiting protests and demonstrations within its departments, colleges, and administrative buildings,” he added.