Cuttack: Ravenshaw University continues to face acute staff crunch as the authorities have been unable to fill up two third of the faculty positions that are lying vacant for over four years now.

The recruitment process that was initiated in June 23, 2014, had remained mired in legal tangle till Orissa High Court directed on April 12 to redo it for the second time by issuing fresh advertisement inviting applications for the 156 vacant posts.

The court expected the university to strictly follow the University Grants Commission (UGC) in the fresh recruitment process. But nothing has moved till date.

Vice-chancellor Ishan Patro told The Telegraph on Tuesday that issuing a fresh advertisement inviting applications for the posts with guidelines strictly adhering to the UGC guidelines had not been possible "due to a pan-India ban on appointments in universities".

"The Union ministry of human resource development had asked the UGC to ensure that all universities postpone their process of teachers' appointment according to its new department-wise reservation plan till the Supreme Court issued its verdict in the matter," Patro said.

The posts of professor (20), associate professor (37) and assistant professor (99) are lying vacant in 18 departments of the university. The HRD ministry had issued the direction on July 18.

In its order issued on March 5 to all universities, the UGC directed that an individual department be considered as the base unit to calculate the number of teaching posts to be reserved for SC/ST and OBC candidates.

The UGC direction had followed an Allahabad High Court directive, which the Supreme Court had later upheld, that struck down the institute-wise selection process by which every institution was considered the base unit.

The UGC order sparked off a controversy, forcing the government to file a review petition in the Supreme Court in April. The UGC then officially informed universities about the petition, but did not ask them to stop hiring under the new department-wise system, which resulted in confusion ahead of a new academic year.

Subsequently, the HRD ministry asked the UGC on July 18 to put on hold its new quota plan for teachers till the Supreme Court issued its verdict in the matter, university sources said. The controversy centres round the apprehension that the department-wise appointment system will reduce the representation of SCs, STs and OBCs.