By Mohd Ismail Khan, TwoCircles.net,
Hyderabad: A Muslim research scholar coming from a very humble background, struggle hard and cracked Maharashtra Public Service Commission examination, only to be denied interview on ‘technical ground’.
Chapparban Shujaudeen is a PhD research scholar at the Hyderabad Central University, who was shortlisted for the interview for teaching job in Maharashtra through state PSC, but his application was rejected later. He is, however, not ready to accept what he termed as “discrimination and prejudice,” and is prepared to pull the MPSC in dock on denying him his due interview even after qualifying in the exam and is planning to file a petition in court.
Chapparban Shujaudeen
Shujaudeen at the Center for Comparative Studies of School of Humanities in Hyderabad Central University and is writing a thesis in comparative literature. His excellent command over English language will make one wonder over his modest rural roots.
A resident of Udgir village in Latur district, Shujaudeen comes from a very humble background, his father Nijamudeen is a bicycle repairer in their village and have a hand to mouth existence. Shujaudeen said that the higher education which he is achieving today is with extreme struggle and hardship of his family. They send him to Hyderabad to pursue his dream of having higher studies, where he completed Masters and M.Phil in English literature from Maulana Azad National Urdu University.
But Shujaudeen now fears that his past efforts of studies in MANUU, could have become one of the reason which cost him his dream job of professorship at his native state public service commission. According to Shujaudeen at the point of certificate verification process in MPSC, examiner was even surprised to note that there is an Urdu University in this country; on over it offers higher education in English.
“They were becoming suspicious of my degrees and were asking questions like, ‘Is it even a recognized university?’ I sensed an obvious bias in the whole certificate verification process,” Shujaudeen told TwoCircles.net.
But his degrees were not made out the reason for his disqualification, but when the examiner stumble upon ‘not matching dates’ of his University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test passing result and MPSC notification of posts.
MPSC notice of interview.
Shujaudeen wrote UGC NET exam on 24th June 2012, the result was supposed to come in the year 2013 but it was postponed by UGC due to some error in the released answer key. To be on the safe side Shujaudeen even wrote NET 2013 in December.
Meanwhile MPSC issued a notification on 29th July 2013 vide advertisement No. 22/2013 for the posts of Assistant Professors in English.
One year later on 9th February 2014 MPSC conducted the written exam for the post of Assistant Professor. During the same time, after a haul of nearly two years finally UGC declared the result of NET 2012 including NET 2013 on 21st April 2014, Shujaudeen qualified in both the NET exams. Two months later on 24th June 2014 MPSC declared the result for the written exam, Sajaudeen succeeded again.
MPSC issued a letter no. 15 (2) (18)/13105 to Shujaudeen intimating him to appear for the interview at their Mumbai office. 20 days later Shujaudeen was standing in their Mumbai office with an anxiety mixed with excitement to face the interviewer. But all his hopes and emotions got dashed at the certificate verification process.
MPSC verifier told Shujaudeen that as qualifying result of UGC NET 2012 and 2013 was declared after the placement notification was issued and hence he will be deemed as ineligible.
When this technical point was being brought up Shujaudeen was caught off guard in surprise. The same day was the verification and the interview combined. On 15th July at 10:30 a.m. verification began, it was to be end exactly at 12 afternoon, Shujaudeen was called for verification minutes before the closure of the process.
He remembers it as a crippling situation, “I was shell shocked when I was disqualified on that fragile ground. They were not ready to listen to any reason. Verification counter closed soon. It was 16th of Ramzan I was left alone perplexed, sense of loss and hopelessness just engulfed me.”
A reminder quickly hit his memory that MPSC notification specifically mentioned that NET or SET qualification will be considered for the post; Shujaudeen has got even two SET qualification from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, but MPSC refused to accept them declaring other state qualification inapplicable in Maharashtra. Even though Shujaudeen points, “They did not mention in their notification that SET qualification should have to be only from Maharashtra.” The last option for him was also lost.
Even in such a distressing situation, Shujaudeen got his act together and did whatever he could have done at that point, “I went and met joint secretary of MPSC but he refused to help, I spoke to the secretary over the phone but he was also not ready to listen to anything.” All his efforts too failed.
Shujaudeen said, if at all MPSC could have informed about technical problem with the qualification dates some time prior to the verification, he could have at least got some clarification letter from UGC board. But by bringing it up just an hour before the whole process is about to be finished MPSC, he claimed, he was left with no option but to accept the humiliation and return back to his hostel in HCU.
UGC NET certificates.
Back in the campus his colleagues were shocked on the manner in which he was disqualified. A dishearten Shujaudeen who almost went into solitude taking whole episode as his bad fate was encouraged by his friends not to bow down till the last fight.
Shujaudeen now affirmed that he is on the right side decided not to succumb as a victim, he is now planning to file a writ in the Bombay high court against MPSC charging their action to be ‘arbitrary’ and ‘illegal’. As the results of interview are yet to be declared by MPSC, Shujaudeen hopes to get a favorable order from the court so to have a chance to attend interview or atleast directives against MPSC’s arbitrary functioning so that some other candidate from the margins doesn’t suffer as he did.
Sajaudeen feels it’s worth fighting back, and he is confident, “There was no wrong doing on my part, but yet I was made to suffer. Had I been got the opportunity to face the interview I would have definitely been selected. I have that confidence. This fight is to get a fair opportunity which was rightfully mine,” he told TCN.