UGC chief flags faculty shortage in institutions

Radhika Pasrija

Chandigarh, November 23

UGC Chairman Prof Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar has highlighted the distressed situation of higher education institutions as far as faculty recruitment is concerned.

“There are over 80 per cent vacancies of teaching faculty in HEIs due to which the quality of education has gone for a toss. We do not have enough teachers to promote research and innovation, which is the need of the hour,” he said, while interacting with mediapersons on the second day of the two-day vice-chancellors’ conference at Panjab University.

Research hit too

We do not have enough teachers to promote research and innovation, which is the need of the hour. — Prof Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar, UGC chief

He said students had been eagerly waiting for the implementation of NEP 2020 in their respective institutions. Talking about inclusion of regional languages and history, he said, “An apex committee has been formed for the availability of textbooks in every language and experts have been identified for the job. Even the digitised version of multilingual texts is available on e-KUMBH portal. NEP reforms focus on permitting students to attempt exams in their local language to allow them to express better.”

Responding to Chandigarh Tribune query related to the fake universities and bogus certificates, he said, “It is a serious problem and we have been warning the state governments against the mushrooming of such institutions. The academic bank of credits is an initiative of the MoE where students and employers can monitor student’s academic progress and check the veracity of the documents.”