Inadequate faculty strength of Calcutta University’s BTech programmes is not allowing most of the departments to get accredited by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA), said the university’s secretary of science and technology.

NBA assesses whether the departments are maintaining the standards set by the apex regulatory body — All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

The secretary stated that one of the conditions for applying for accreditation is that each department must have a teacher-to-student ratio of 1:15. But in seven out of the 10 departments, the ratio is as poor as 1:20, Roy said.

“The NBA accreditation is a must, without which, the AICTE could raise questions about the affiliation of the BTech programmes. Classes are also suffering. The absence of any recruitment over the past few years has made the condition worse,” said Amit Roy, secretary of CU’s science and technology.

According to a CU official, the university has been run by the authorised vice-chancellor since June 2023. It is from then that the teacher recruitment has been hit.

According to a professor of the computer science and engineering department, the accreditation agency mandates that each BTech department intending to get accredited must mention its student-faculty ratio (SFR).

“The department has seven teachers, although our sanctioned strength is 16. We have 160 students spread across the four-year BTech programme. Our SFR is 1:23. So, how can we apply for accreditation? The AICTE has been insisting on accreditation. But with this faculty strength, we don’t stand a chance,” the professor said.

The secretary of the science and technology faculty said only three departments — information technology, electronics and communication engineering and radio physics and electronics — have the required ratio.

“We have an acute crisis of teachers in the remaining seven departments. The university teachers’ association has written to the authorities, requesting them to fill
the vacant posts. But nothing has happened,” Roy told The Telegraph.

CU introduced the four-year BTech programmes in 2015, replacing the three-year programme where students were admitted based on their BSc scores.

The AICTE only recognises four-year BTech programmes based on JEE entrance test-based admissions.

The university started phasing out the three-year BTech programmes in 2015. It completed the transition last year, switching to a four-year BTech programme in all 424 seats.

“The university did not bother to add adequate teachers even as the switch to the four-year programme was set in motion,” a CU official said.

Sanatan Chattopadhyay, the secretary of Calcutta University Teachers’ Association, said: “Fifty-five per cent of teaching positions are vacant. So students are suffering. Accreditation is held up.”

The officiating vice-chancellor of CU, Santa Datta Dey, said: “The teacher recruitment process has not been taken up over the past 12 years. I joined the university in 2023. We will start teacher recruitment after we are through with the promotion scheme for the teachers.”