Patna, Feb. 8: Nearly 2,000 lecturers in about 40 colleges in Bihar and Jharkhand have been found to be holding their posts illegally.

The S.C. Agraval Committee, set up by the Supreme Court in December 2001 to probe irregularities in the appointment of lecturers and non-teaching staff over three decades, found that in some universities the staff strength is five times the number of posts sanctioned. It also found that teachers have been appointed for non-existing subjects.

Official lists of new teachers sent by vice-chancellors of some universities to Raj Bhavan have no mention of some recruits, sources said, quoting the report. The names are suspected to have been added later by the state university service commission.

Tilka Manjhi University of Bhagalpur reportedly wrote to the commission about 29 vacancies (letter no. B. 1591, dated May 8, 1997) but 129 were appointed, some of whom are unqualified, vice-chancellor Ramashraya Yadav said. Magadh University of Gaya and Jayaprakash Narayan University of Chapra have also written to the governor about the appointment of more lecturers than posts available.

About 40 per cent of employees in the 40 colleges, many of whom have completed 20 to 25 years of service, are under threat of losing their jobs. Some lecturers were found to have been appointed without even a masters degree. Magadh University is the worst affected. About 170 teachers and 290 other staff here are counting their days, sources said.

The probe was set rolling by Laloo Prasad Yadav, who smelt the rot when he became chief minister the first time. He ordered an inquiry by the vigilance department, which registered cases against many university authorities, MLAs, education department officers and even a minister of education. Some of them were jailed.

In 1995, Laloo Prasad declared in the Assembly that many appointments were illegal and announced that new appointments would be made. But unions of lecturers and non-teaching staff filed a PIL in the high court and got a stay. Laloo Prasad then approached the Supreme Court, which constituted the committee headed by its retired judge, Agraval, in December 2001.

Recently, the state vigilance bureau also completed its probe into irregularities in the appointment of lecturers from 1997. This probe, which has pointed to the illegal appointment of wives of BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi and Union minister Sanjay Paswan, was set up by the former governor, V.C. Pandey. Pandey had stayed the appointment of the new lecturers till the probe was completed. But M. Rama Jois, who succeeded Pandey, lifted the stay and allowed the recruits to join work.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal has now launched a tirade against Jois. Party spokesperson Shivanand Tiwari has accused the governor of being an agent of the RSS-BJP and demanded his recall. Tiwari alleged that Jois allowed the controversial new lecturer-recruits to join work, keeping in mind the interests of the BJP and the RSS.

“Why should the new governor (Jois) act in a hurry? That, too, not consulting the vigilance bureau. He flew from Ranchi to Patna, accompanied by central minister Sanjay Paswan. Soon after taking charge, he ensured that the new recruits joined duty. Wasn’t it a well-planned act?” asks Tiwari.