Gaya: Acute faculty crunch has gripped Magadh University as 826 of the 1,288 sanctioned posts, nearly 65 per cent, are vacant.

The new academic session, 2018-19, began on July 1. To add to students' woes, the existing faculty, besides being highly inadequate, is not evenly distributed among the university's 19 constituent colleges.

The sanction strength for Gaya College in Gaya is 168 but there are just 70 working teachers there. Similarly, the SNS College in Tekari has a sanctioned strength of 61 teachers while there are just four teachers.

The situation at S.N. Sinha College, Warisaliganj, is slightly better. Forty of the 46 sanctioned posts are vacant there. Student strength at Warsaliganj, according to official figures, is 5,232, which amounts to one teacher for every 900 students.

At S. Sinha College in Jehanabad, the number of working teachers is just seven whereas the number of sanctioned posts in the college is 44. Student strength at the Jehanabad college is 3,900. SD College in Kaler has just 5 teachers against a sanctioned strength of 30. There are 5,500 students there.

Headquarters-based PG departments are relatively better placed. Against 108 sanctioned posts in the university's PG departments, the working strength is 85. In percentage terms, the vacancy position in the PG departments comes to 22 per cent, which means 78 per cent of posts in PG departments stand filled up.

As per UGC norms, there should be one teacher for 10 students at the PG level and one teacher for 25 students at the under-graduate level. Some of the MU Colleges including Gaya College, Gaya impart PG teaching as well.

According to university officials, more than 500 vacancies were advertised in 2014. The posts were advertised through Bihar Public Service Commission. Whereas, appointments have been made in subjects like Chemistry, Mathematics, Economics and English, on the recommendation of the service commission, no appointment has been made in important subjects like, Botany, Zoology, Political Science and History.

Conceding that the university was faced with acute faculty shortage, Magadh University vice-chancellor Prof Qamar Ahsan said guestemporary teachers would shortly be appointed to augment faculty crunch. The guest teachers will be offered Rs 1,000 per class subject to a maximum of Rs 25,000 per month, the VC said.