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Assistant Professor Recruitment: With the new government coming to power, educationists are expecting recruitment to vacant teaching posts in Odisha's public universities, which has been stalled for the past two years due to a case pending in the Supreme Court challenging the Odisha University Amendment Act, 2020.
As per official data available till April 2023, about 1,000 faculty posts are lying vacant in 12 state public universities under the higher education department. Institutions are facing difficulties in conducting teaching, research and other academic work due to shortage of teachers.
More than 57% of approved teaching posts are vacant in public universities in the state, including four universities in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. Madhusudan Law University in Cuttack has the highest number of vacancies, with some universities having more than 50% vacancies.
In a case between the University Grants Commission (UGC) and state higher education departments, the appointment could not be made after a stay by the Supreme Court on May 20, 2022. The amended Act was challenged in court on the ground that it violated the UGC Regulations, 2018, particularly on the election of Vice-Chancellors and faculty members.
In 2020, the state government brought an amendment to the Odisha University Act and appointed the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) to recruit teachers for universities. It recruited around 200 teachers in May 2022. The recruitment process for the rest of the teaching posts was at various stages when it was stopped.
Two SLPs were filed in the Supreme Court challenging the UGC amended Act. The petitioners are Ajit Kumar Mohanty, retired professor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi and Kunj Bihari Panda, former professor of Utkal University.
Kunj Bihari Panda told the petitioners in the case, “We were protesting the amended law and later went to court. Now the government has changed in Odisha. Both the state and the center are being run by BJP-led governments. If the state decides to scrap the amended law, the problem will be solved.”
Siva Prasad Adhikari, former vice-chancellor of Balasore's Fakir Mohan University, said the previous government was in favor of the amended law in the Supreme Court. Now a new government has been formed in Odisha. The government can withdraw the case so that the amended law can be null and void.” Currently, the higher education department is trying to meet the acute shortage of teachers by recruiting retired teachers and guest teachers.
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