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NEW DELHI: The scourge of “not found suitable” continues. And it’s not limited to appointments of fresh SC/ST candidates.A key parliamentary committee has found that even university teachers from marginalised communities employed for years are being rejected for full-time positions by being called “not found suitable”, again deprecating the practice of using the “NFS” tag to turn down the SC/ST aspirants.The parliamentary committee on welfare of SCs/STs has found “NFS” as a persistent discriminatory practice against dalit and tribal faculty aspirants for the second consecutive report.In the latest report while scrutinising Allahabad University, the panel has gone a step further by making the startling revelation that “NFS” is also being used against experienced teachers. “In certain cases, the committee are given to understand that some of the Assistant Professor belonging to SC/ST who worked for a number of years on ad-hoc basis were not selected at the time of filling of regular vacancies by stating a cliché reply that they are not suitable, and unfit for induction,” the panel, headed by BJP MP Faggan Singh Kulaste, has noted.As a result, the panel has recommended that all vacant reserved faculty positions should be filled in three months. While the direction is in the context of AU, it seems valid for all central universities. Kulaste told TOI, “The ministry of education has assured us that NFS has been removed as a reason for faculty recruitments.”The issue has been part of political discourse in recent months, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi speaking about it on many occasions and the UGC forming a committee to examine the issue. TOI had reported that the UGC committee is likely to recommend that all “NFS” cases should be reasoned by the universities so that the top commission can suggest correctives.The parliamentary committee has further said that after filling all the existing vacant positions, “no faculty seat of the SC/ST community should remain vacant for more than six months under any circumstance.”The committee observed that inspite of proper eligibility and competence, fully experienced SCs/STs aspirants are rarely inducted as faculty members even at the initial stage. In AU, the panel found that 14 SC/ST candidates were declared as NFS during the last three years.It said NFS is “not a correct picture of the assessment of the SC/ST candidates who are equally bright and deserving,” and it is also used because of the “wrong assessment attitude” of the selection committee. It has urged the university higher-ups to be more positive towards talented and qualified SC/ST candidates.