Notice issued to the candidate to apply for the post of Visiting Lecturer under two names

The commissioner disqualified the candidate and issued a call for a response within seven days. | Photo credit: File photo

The Ministry of Higher Education has issued a notice to a candidate who tried to secure the posts of guest lecturers in government primary schools by applying under two different names and in two different categories but with the same Aadhaar number, email address, phone number, etc.

While in one application he claimed to meet University Grants Commission (UGC) eligibility criteria such as National Eligibility Test (NET) and Ph.D., he also applied under a different name. Participated in the selection process through Webex login (in-camera) and appeared as a UGC qualified candidate. After securing the post of visiting lecturer, he did not report to the college and instead tried to get the department to allocate him a post in the non-UGC cadre under a different name.

The commissioner disqualified the candidate and issued a call for a response within seven days. The department is also investigating other such possible duplications.

The candidate in question once applied for the seat, called for the academic year 2026-27 as “Chandrappa” saying that he does not have UGC qualification. Using the same mobile phone number, Aadhaar number and email address, another application was made for the post under the name of ‘Ravi’ claiming to be qualified by the UGC. As per rules, if UGC qualified candidates are not available for the post then non-UGC candidates are considered for the same.

Candidate participated in Online Counseling on 1st August 2026 for the selection of UGC Qualified Visiting Lecturer in Geography through Webex Login, got selected for the post in Government First Grade College, Dharwad. The meeting was captured on Webex video.

But he did not apply in the college and instead tried to get selected for the same post in the non-UGC category as “Chandrappa” later.

A complaint in this connection was filed with the department by another visiting lecturer. Subsequently, when officials examined the candidate’s documents and Webex video, the alleged impersonation came to light.

Speaking to The Hindu Gopalakrishna HN, Commissioner, Department of Collegiate Education, said the candidate did not report for duty as he was afraid of exposure during document verification. “Subsequently, as the post remained vacant, he requested the department to consider the application he submitted in his name for the unqualified UGC category to fill up the vacancy,” he explained.

“To prevent similar occurrences in the future, the online application system will be modified and made more robust to block duplicate applications,” he said.

Published – 23 Sep 2026 23:27 IST