Bhubaneswar, Sept. 11: Utkal University officials have decided to appoint guest faculty to overcome shortage of teachers at the premier institution.
At present, there are 118 vacant posts across various departments.
“We have already advertised for 51 permanent posts and will recruit guest lecturers for the remaining 67 positions as a stop-gap arrangement. The syndicate has already approved the plan and we are preparing a budget of Rs 20 lakh per semester,” said chairman of the university postgraduate (PG) council P.K. Mishra.
He said guidelines, laid down by the University Grants Commission, would be followed for the appointment of the guest faculty. However, given the declining number of National Eligibility Test-qualified candidates in the state, it might be a difficult proposition for the varsity officials to find applicants for the 67 sanctioned posts. “If we do not find adequate number of candidates, we will appoint retired professors for the job,” Mishra said. The guest faculty would be expected to take 25 classes a month against a payment of Rs 1,000 per lecture. “There are major vacancies in the physics, zoology, botany, Sanskrit, philosophy, history and political science departments. The burden on the existing teachers is immense. Some of them will retire in a few months. Fresh appointments are the need of the hour, and we hope the process would be over in two to three months,” he said.
The varsity has 27 PG departments, each of them offering specialisation papers. However, most of the papers have been suspended in the wake of the vacancy crisis.
A university official said the teacher requirement at Utkal would increase by three times as the authorities had decided to introduce a choice-based credit system from the coming academic session. “Syllabus overhaul and teaching methods are necessary for us to be able to compete with other national-level universities. We cannot strive for academic excellence without teachers,” he said.
The authorities are also busy addressing security measures, a major issue plaguing the campus. A university security committee meeting will be held tomorrow to chalk out the measures to beef up the security to keep frequent clashes involving students and non-students at bay. “We are keeping strict vigil on the campus. Students are required to show their ID cards whenever asked for. Unauthorised persons are gradually being evicted from the hostels,” said Mishra.
The students’ union elections at the university has been cancelled this year following a violent clash between two student groups owing allegiance to rival political parties on September 4.
