BSUSC screening sparks outrage among scholars

Patna: The Bihar State University Service Commission’s (BSUSC) move to provisionally disqualify nearly 500 candidates from assistant professor (botany) interviews has triggered strong protests among scholars.The controversy follows a June 17 notification listing eligible and ineligible candidates for appointment under advertisement no. AP-BOTN-22/20-21. Candidates allege the rejection is based largely on their undergraduate (BSc) subjects.According to them, the Sept 2020 advertisement required a master’s degree with 55% marks in a “concerned, relevant or allied subject” along with NET or PhD. However, the screening process has disqualified candidates whose BSc subjects do not exactly match their postgraduate specialisation.Scholars with master’s and PhDs in recognised allied subjects, such as microbiology—listed in the commission’s Schedule-I—have been declared ineligible if their undergraduate degree was in industrial microbiology or other applied fields.Candidates have cited Patna high court and Supreme Court rulings, arguing that eligibility criteria cannot be altered midway through a recruitment process.BSUSC chairman Girish Kumar Chaudhary said the decision was based on the opinion of subject experts. He added that candidates have been given an opportunity to submit representations. As the botany recruitment is already under litigation, a final decision will be taken after reviewing objections and the court’s verdict.