Aspiring Karnataka Prof's Two-year-long Battle Against Univ Goof-up That Cost Him His Job

Bengaluru: When 31-year-old Hanumantha Nayak topped the examination for the post of assistant professor at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur, in 2016, he felt his hard work had finally paid off.

However, the Raichur youth's happiness was short-lived. A glitch on the part of the university robbed Nayak of his rightful position and for the past two years, he has been running from pillar to post to secure employment.

Nayak, who belongs to the Valmiki community that is listed in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category for reservation, secured an aggregate of 65.48 per cent in the examination and topped the Genetics and Plant Breeding subject.

Impressed with his performance, the university decided to employ him under the general quota instead of the ST category and conveyed their decision to him. Assured of employment, Nayak too gave his nod to the proposal.

Meanwhile, another aspirant named Praveen, hailing from neighbouring Bidar district, was given the position under the ST category.

It was only after Praveen’s appointment that the university realised there were no posts available in the general category. They then decided to offer a job to Nayak under the specially abled category but the issue has been hanging fire since then.

Nayak later learnt that he could be appointed under the specially abled quota only if there were no other aspirants from that category.

The topper’s repeated pleas to the university have fallen on deaf ears and he is now mulling the legal route to resolve the crisis.

Speaking to News18, Nayak said he was forced to beg for the post, which rightfully belonged to him, despite having worked hard to achieve it. “I put all my effort and scored the highest marks, only to get cheated. I got an aggregate of 65.48% in the exam and am now running from pillar to post,” he said.

Reacting to the error committed by the selection committee members, additional vice-chancellor of the university Gutti Jambunatha said, “I accept that the committee made a big mistake. They should have followed the standard rule book. Now, there is no option left. Nayak has to wait for the appointment notification and take the exam again. We can’t hire him under the specially abled category as we conduct a different examination for those aspirants.”