The recent budget announcement regarding the opening of 10 new government arts and science colleges in the interior parts of the state has left academicians wondering about the quality of education to be offered in the colleges, as they say, the existing colleges themselves are facing acute shortage of faculty. The government decided to establish the colleges with an aim to make higher education more accessible.
The state has a total of 164 government arts and science colleges, with over 1.20 lakh seats in undergraduate streams alone, and there are 7,500 vacancies of permanent faculty members.
Teachers alleged there has been no recruitment of faculty in government and government-aided arts and science colleges in the state for the last 10 years. In 2015, the government had recruited 957 faculty members, and since then, there has been no recruitment, stated a report by The New Indian Express.
Last year, the Teachers' Recruitment Board (TRB) started the recruitment process for 4,000 faculty positions, but it was halted midway due to legal issues. The tentative year planner released by TRB says the recruitment exam for 4,000 assistant professors will be conducted in July this year, but academicians are apprehensive about the timeline.
"At present, there are only 5,000 permanent faculty members to manage over 3 lakh students in government colleges across the state. Though the vacancy stands at 7,500, the actual requirement of faculty could be much more, since every year there is hike in the number of seats. The 40 constituent colleges of universities are also converted into government arts and science colleges. The government is managing the situation by hiring guest lecturers but it is taking a toll on the quality of education," said Tamil Nadu Government College Teachers' Association (TNGCTA) secretary S Suresh.
"The move to open 10 new colleges will definitely benefit the students but only if they get good faculty members. The state government should work to settle court cases and start the recruitment drive," added Suresh.
TNGCTA alleged the government is not taking proactive measures to resolve the issue, since they are able to make do by hiring guest lecturers and also save money this way.
"The state is rightly focused on improving the gross enrolment ratio (GER) but doesn't spare a thought to the quality of education," said the principal of a college in Chennai.
Meanwhile, president of Tamil Nadu All Government UGC Qualified Guest Lecturer Association V Thangaraj said the government is opening new colleges but is not intending to give them their dues.
"The starting salary of a permanent faculty is over Rs 60,000 but we are drawing a consolidated salary of just Rs 25,000 per month. Adding to it, we are paid only for 11 months and denied other benefits, including maternity leave. Our repeated demands to hike salary have fallen on deaf ears," said Thangaraj, according to the report by The New Indian Express.
He urged the state government to provide an internal reservation of 50% to guest lectures while appointing assistant professors.
