December 7, 2015
Nadimul Haque makes Special Mention on shortage of faculty in Indian universities
A huge shortage of faculty in Indian universities is crippling the growth and quality of higher education in India. Central universities face a vacancy rate of more than 35% of teaching positions. Even our leading institutions such as the IITs and IIMs face huge faculty shortages, as high as 46% in some cases – especially in new institutes. The situation has not improvedover the years – even in 2013, more than 38% of teaching positions in the IITs were vacant.
The process of appointing directors and heads of these institutions is also flawed. Increasingly, we are seeing more reports of the Government appointing unqualified people to head our leading institutions, with little consultation with experts and unheeding of student protests. Increasing pressure and control by the Government has oftentimes let to resignations of institute directors, worsening an already critical situation.
This inadequacy of our faculty appointments and selection systems isgravely affecting the quality of education that students of higher education are receiving. Teacher-student ratios are rising, the attention and support students are able to receive is falling, and the research capabilities and reputations of our institutions are seriously affected.
The government must take immediate steps to enhance availability of qualified faculty by encouraging students to take up Ph.D. and MPhil programmes, attracting more students with research grants and scholarships. Academic and industry experts must be consulted in the appointment of institution directors and chairmen. The Government should also increase funding of educational institutions at the Central and State levels to allow them to hire and retain the best faculty.
