Telangana Governor Rains Questions On Education Minister Amid Recruitment Board Bill Row

Nov 11, 2022, 15:10 IST

Telangana Education Minister P. Sabitha Indra Reddy on Thursday met Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan to clarify her doubts on the Common Recruitment Board Bill and various other issues. Accompanied by senior officials including Education Secretary Vakati Karuna, College Education Commissioner Naveen Mittal, and Board of Higher Education Chairman Limbadri she met the Governor at 5 pm to provide clarifications sought by the Governor.

Interestingly the Education Minister’s visit came a day after the Governor addressed a press conference to dismiss the allegations by the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) that her office was sitting on some Bills forward by the state government for her assent. She stated that she is taking time for assessing and analysing the Bills before giving her consent. She also made a few sensational comments that her phone was being tapped.

Met her Excellency @DrTamilisaiGuv and discussed at length matters pertaining to the Education Dept. pic.twitter.com/0LoryH8BZu

— SabithaReddy (@SabithaindraTRS) November 10, 2022

Education Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy gave an explanation to Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on the bill for setting up a joint appointment board for the appointment of teaching and non-teaching staff in universities. The meeting with Governor lasted for about 45 minutes.

Before going to meet the Governor, Minister Sabitha had a meeting with the officials in her chamber about what to discuss at the Raj Bhavan. It is known that details were discussed based on the information from the relevant departments on technical and legal matters.

The Governor is said to have made several suggestions during the meeting. She is said to have opined that it was necessary to strictly follow the UGC rules regarding faculty recruitment and to address the concerns coming from various student communities.

The Governor is understood to have told the minister and officials that a common recruitment board could lead to delays in the appointments in universities. She said her only concern was to avoid any legal hurdles. She also suggested to the authorities to give priority to libraries and digital resources in universities, improve government hostels and increase labs in educational institutions. The Governor explained that there is a need to encourage alumni participation for the all-round development of universities.

However, after meeting the Governor, the Education Minister left without talking to the media. It is learned that officials have been strictly instructed not to talk to the media on this issue.