Kerala University to fill 40 per cent vacancies

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala University will take steps to fill up over 140 vacant teaching posts in its various departments. This comes to around 40 per cent of the total teaching posts in the university.

Vice-Chancellor V.P. Mahadevan Pillai told Deccan Chronicle that the vacancies were causing a lot of problems. The NAAC re-accreditation was scheduled for 2020 and the lack of sufficient teachers would be a hindrance in getting a higher grade.

The Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) had denied funds for the university last year citing lack of sufficient teachers. The lack of guides was also affecting the prospects of students who wanted to do research, said Mr Pillai.

Sources said that the first syndicate meeting of the new panel to be held in the first week of January is likely to discuss the issue.

There have been no fresh appointments in the varsity for some time. Though during the time of the previous vice-chancellor P.K. Radhakrishnan, the university had notified the job notification to fill up 110 vacancies in various departments, it could not be completed. It resulted in legal battles, sources said.

The UGC issued a fresh guidelines insisting that new appointments should be made only after ensuring reservation criteria in each department. However, the varsity had requested that reservation criteria should be made considering the entire university as a single unit as laid down in the university statute.  Though the Allahabad High Court had given a verdict against UGC instructions, the UGC filed an appeal in the SC. As a result no vacancies could be filled up in the university. The UGC had issued more than one circular asking the university not to make appointments till the SC took a decision on the issue. It was difficult for the university to bypass the UGC directive, said sources.