Kannur: Kannur University’s Syndicate has asked ad hoc Vice-Chancellor Prof K K Saju to remove Dr Praveen A as Director of the Malaviya Mission Teacher Training Centre (MMTTC), alleging that he faces multiple complaints of sexual misconduct at Pondicherry University, his parent institution, and that his appointment violates the Union Ministry of Education’s guidelines for the centre.

Dr Praveen, a professor at the central university’s Department of Physical Education and Sports, came to Kannur University on a one-year deputation as Director of Physical Education. Recently, Prof Saju gave him charge of the MMTTC director, a post that carries a three-year tenure.

Addressing a press conference on July 9, Syndicate member N Sukanya, also a member of the CPM’s Kannur district committee, alleged that the Vice-Chancellor bypassed the Syndicate while bringing Dr Praveen to the university. “He asked the Syndicate to ratify Dr Praveen’s appointment as Director of Physical Education, and we did so in good faith. Later, we came to know about the multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against him and asked the Vice-Chancellor to send him back to Pondicherry University. Instead, he made him Director of the teacher training centre,” Sukanya said.

She was joined by Syndicate members Dr Pramod Kumar K V and A Ashokan, who said they were speaking on behalf of the 11-member Syndicate.

UDF-affiliated teachers told Onmanorama they too believed there were violations in Dr Praveen’s appointment, but had not raised the issue because “it was the Vice-Chancellor who brought him here, and he would not remove him under any circumstances.”

The Syndicate argued that the appointment violated the Malaviya Mission Teacher Training Programme guidelines, which state that the centre should be headed by “a Programme Director from among the senior faculty members of the host institution.”

While Dr Praveen may satisfy that requirement at Pondicherry University, but not in Kannur University, said a professor requesting anonymity.

Kannur University has a Directorate of Physical Education and a Department of Physical Education, a teaching department. The Directorate of Physical Education is responsible for organising inter-collegiate tournaments and selecting university teams for various sports. A director heads the directorate, which also has deputy directors and assistant directors. As per UGC regulations, they are not teaching faculty and have no teaching assignments.

The university’s Department of Physical Education offers a five-Year Integrated Master of Physical Education and Sports (MPES), and has professors, associate professors and assistant professors as faculty members. “The guidelines are unambiguous. The MMTTC Director must be a senior faculty member of the host institution. Dr Praveen is not a member of Kannur University’s teaching faculty,” the professor said.

MMTTCs conduct orientation and refresher programmes for college and university teachers. Kerala has only three such centres, at the universities of Kerala, Calicut and Kannur. “As Director, Dr Praveen will decide who trains teachers across universities and colleges. We believe he is unsuitable not only because of the sexual allegations against him but also because of his ideological leanings towards the Sangh Parivar,” Sukanya said.

Documents accessed by Onmanorama show that the Pondicherry University Teachers’ Association terminated Dr Praveen’s membership in August 2025 over his alleged conduct. They also show that, apart from student organisations, four employees’ associations wrote to the university seeking an inquiry and police action after posters surfaced on campus alleging that a PhD scholar had become pregnant and later underwent termination of the pregnancy.

Dr Praveen subsequently went on leave before joining Kannur University on deputation.

When contacted, Prof Saju said Dr Praveen had not been appointed as MMTTC Director but merely given its additional charge. “Before him, the Registrar was holding the additional charge. The Registrar already has several responsibilities, so we entrusted it to Praveen,” he said.

Syndicate members said the comparison was flawed because the Registrar is a regular professor who will return to the university’s Department of Statistical Sciences after completing his tenure.

“Whether it is a regular appointment or merely an additional charge, the person entrusted with it must satisfy the prescribed eligibility criteria. Can an ineligible person be appointed as an ad hoc Vice-Chancellor!” a Syndicate member said.

Prof Saju said Dr Praveen was a “convenient” pick because he stayed on the Thavakkara campus (at the MMTTC guest house). “Since Praveen stays on the campus, he can keep an eye on the centre even after office hours,” he said.

Syndicate members said the university has 15 professors who meet the eligibility requirement.

Prof Saju also denied violating UGC norms, saying the Ministry of Education guidelines applied only during the first five years of the scheme. “After that, the university frames its own rules. Besides, UGC funding for the centre has stopped. There is no director’s post now,” he said.

The V-C called the demand to remove Dr Praveen over alleged sexual misconduct “childish”. “If he has to be removed before the deputation ends, there should be some serious reason. They are making childish arguments. Can we take action here for something that allegedly happened at Pondicherry University? That is for Pondicherry University and the police to deal with. There are no allegations against him at Kannur University,” he said.

Also, if Pondicherry University believed there was a problem, would it have issued him a no-objection certificate for deputation, he asked.

The Syndicate disagreed, saying even candidates selected through the Public Service Commission undergo police verification before appointment or their probation is declared. “Now that the Vice-Chancellor is aware of the allegations against Dr Praveen, he has a responsibility to act,” said Sukanya.

Prof Saju, however, noted that the present Syndicate had been nominated by the previous Left government and said the new UDF government will reconstitute the Syndicate “in a day or two”. “The new Syndicate can take a call on these matters,” he said.