Central universities asked to fill 6,200 vacant posts of professors

During a meeting with Vice Chancellors (VCs) of central universities, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that the updated data shows 6,229 vacant teaching posts, which includes 1,767 posts for OBC candidates and over 1,000 posts for SC candidates. Huh.

He asked the vice-chancellors of central universities to advertise for the posts between September 6 and 10 and urged them to fill up the posts by the end of October.

The minister’s statement assumes significance, days after Higher Education Secretary Amit Khare wrote to universities to fill the vacancies within a year.

Pradhan in his address to the Vice Chancellors also asked to implement three key provisions of the new National Education Policy (NEP) namely Academic Bank of Credit, Multiple Entry and Exit System and three-year degree and four-year undergraduate system . degree as well as one year and two year postgraduate programmes.

He said that as the campuses gradually reopen, the university authorities need to expedite the teaching-learning activities and look at examinations and declaration of results with equal seriousness. However, he indicated that university officials need to be friendly with students on campus within the constitutional framework.

The minister said that both President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will talk on education, NEP and allied issues in the next four days.

During the meeting with the vice-chancellor, Pradhan also supported the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) to start an anti-terrorism course after the university had courted controversy over the matter. He also supported the University of Delhi, which is facing opposition from a section of teachers over changes in certain curriculum structures and curriculum.

The JNU Academic Council had on August 17 approved three new courses, which include “Strategies for Counter-terrorism, Asymmetric Struggle and Cooperation between Major Powers”. Some JNU teachers and students protested the move, alleging that The curriculum states that “jihadi terrorism” is the only form of “radical-religious terrorism”.

Pradhan said that through talks with US security experts, he has come to know how the Internet is increasingly being used for terrorist activities. “Why can’t our students, engineering students learn this,” he said, adding that at the end of the day, these students will be dealing with similar problems after graduation and solving such issues.