HYDERABAD: It's an interesting situation here: while JNTUH is being criticised for giving a free hand to private engineering colleges, several teachers claim that they are being unfairly targeted by the varsity itself.
Lecturers who hold MCA, as well as PhD degrees, are alleging that despite being qualified, the JNTUH has not ratified them and as a result, they are likely to lose their jobs by month end. According to JNTU guidelines, only those with M.Tech degrees can be allowed to teach technical courses including CSE and IT in the engineering colleges.
A faculty not ratified or approved by JNTU is seen as not being up to the mark, and colleges generally sack them.
One such teacher with over two decades of experience, told Express, "For 25 years I was qualified, now suddenly they changed their norms and I am no more qualified to teach the students? They can't expect us to change our professions at this juncture of our life," she rued.
Sacked from reputed colleges, some of these teachers have now joined other colleges at paltry salaries.
Interestingly, the teachers claim that when they approached the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), they were told they were qualified enough to teach. "If JNTUH wants to revise its norms, it is fine, but it cannot just dismiss those who have been working for decades. New rules should be applied to new recruits, not experienced faculty members," said another faculty. These faculty members now want JNTU to implement the AICTE GO that makes them eligible for teaching or issue a statement saying they were not eligible, so that they can take a legal recourse.