Sorry state of affairs: Telangana universities operate without regular faculty

All the State universities are on the same page. As per the latest details available with the Telangana Council of Higher Education, out of 2,817 teaching posts in the 12 universities in the state, 2,060 posts are vacant in 2024, an increase from 1,977 in 2023.

Hyderabad: Osmania University, one the oldest and prestigious universities in the country, has been operating with just 28 per cent regular faculty out of a sanctioned strength of 1,267 positions.

Of the total sanctioned posts, 354 teachers, including professors, associate and assistant professors, are currently on the university rolls. This means, vacancies are more than thrice the regular working staff.

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The vacancies will further increase as another 19 senior professors in various departments are set to superannuate this year. This month alone, three professors, one each from Business Management, Chemistry, and Physics departments will retire.

With departments witnessing superannuations and no regular recruitment in sight, the student-teacher ratio, which is considered one of the parameters for educational standards and rankings, is taking a heavy beating.

The situation has become so alarming that several departments, including Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology, Journalism and Mass Communication, and Psychology are being operated without a single professor.

Further, the OU that had been established as the first university in the country with Urdu medium of instruction does not have a single regular faculty to teach in the Urdu department, reflecting the state of affairs in the university.

The university is somehow running the show with contract and part-time teachers who are being forced to take the additional workload of the superannuated teachers for meager salaries in comparison with regular counterparts.

Further, as several professors are retiring each year, the university is forced to reduce the PhD intake, which in turn affects the research work.

The OU is not alone. All the State universities are on the same page. As per the latest details available with the Telangana Council of Higher Education, out of 2,817 teaching posts in the 12 universities in the state, 2,060 posts are vacant in 2024, an increase from 1,977 in 2023.

The previous BRS government brought in Telangana Universities Common Recruitment Bill 2022 for smooth and transparent recruitment in universities. However, the Bill, which was referred by former Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan to the President of India for assent, never saw light of the day.

Meanwhile, the Congress government is yet to take a call on recruitment in the universities. The Council recently constituted a five-member high-level committee headed by Dr. BRAOU Vice Chancellor Prof. Ghanta Chakrapani to prepare modalities for the recruitment of teaching staff in the State Universities and their superannuation, in alignment with the UGC regulations, and asked for a report by January 25.