Bengaluru: After nearly 19 years of service at Jain College, a 52-year-old assistant professor was abruptly issued a one-line termination notice, triggering a legal battle that ended in her reinstatement. Usha PS joined the Jain Group of Institutions in 2005 as a lecturer in life sciences at JC Road campus and was shifted in Jan 2021 to Vasavi Road campus as an assistant professor in the same discipline.Her services were brought to an abrupt end on Jan 29, 2024, when the college issued a notice stating her employment would cease after April 28, 2024, describing it only as a “notice issued in lieu thereof.” Challenging the decision, Usha wrote to the management on Feb 22, seeking withdrawal of the notice and continuation of service until superannuation, arguing as a permanent employee, she could not be terminated without due process under Section 92 of Karnataka Education Act, 1983, which governs dismissal of teachers in private institutions. The college acknowledged her representation, but did not respond further, prompting her to approach the tribunal.In its defence, Jain College denied wrongdoing and termed the appeal malicious. It claimed that life sciences was witnessing declining enrolment even before the pandemic and that Usha was orally informed in Dec 2020 that she might need to explore alternatives. On “humanitarian” grounds, it said, she was retained and reassigned across multiple subjects, including environmental science, Indian Constitution, economics of human development, business law, corporate administration and banking law.The college argued that the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 led to a syllabus overhaul. It stated that once the revised curriculum was implemented for BBA and B.Com 5th and 6th semesters, the principal held meetings with commerce department heads on Aug 18 and Oct 12, 2023, concluding that no subjects matched Usha’s specialisation and that even if assigned, they would not meet the minimum teaching hours required for retention. This, it said, was conveyed to her by both the principal and department heads. On this basis, it relied on Clause 11 of her appointment letter, which allowed termination by either side with three months’ notice without assigning reasons.However, cross-examination revealed inconsistencies. The principal admitted that banking law and constitutional law were core subjects. He initially denied hiring any new faculty members but later conceded that a lecturer with an MBA in HR was appointed for relevant subjects. He also confirmed that three other faculty members were transferred around the same period to balance workload. When asked to produce authorisation for issuing the termination notice, he failed to provide any written approval from the governing body and instead, cited an unspecified “telephonic communication” without any record or date.The tribunal noted that Usha, by then, also acquired a law degree with specialisation in constitutional law in addition to her original zoology qualification and was teaching a wide range of subjects, including environmental science and Indian Constitution across all undergraduate streams. Many of these were core subjects carrying significant academic weight. The tribunal also found that the college’s own records contradicted its claim, showing that her teaching load nearly doubled from 17 classes per week in 2021-22 to 31 classes in 2022-23, continuing up to the issuance of the termination notice.The tribunal also noted that a new lecturer without subject-specific qualification was appointed for areas where Usha was already teaching. It held that the termination was issued without proper authority, as the power lay with the appointing authority and not the principal acting alone.Given her nearly two decades of unblemished service with no disciplinary proceedings or complaints, the tribunal concluded that the termination was not based on genuine administrative necessity. The Educational Appellate Tribunal, presided over by XIV additional city civil and sessions judge AM Nalini Kumari, on June 29 set aside the termination order dated Jan 29, 2024, and directed Jain College to reinstate her as assistant professor.
