BENGALURU: Though nine years have elapsed since the Dr B R Ambedkar School of Economics (BASE) University was established in Bengaluru, the university, which was to be developed on the lines of London School of Economics, has no permanent teaching staff for its undergraduate and postgraduate courses in economics.
It is a unitary university under the state government running courses specifically in economics. Students from across the country come here to study specialised BSc and MSc courses along with other disciplines.
They have to write the Central University Entrance Test (CUET) to get selected here. The university was established in 2017. While the academic session was inaugurated by former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in 2017, the newly constructed building was inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi in 2022.
BASE Vice-Chancellor Prof Vishwanatha said, “Initially, it was only ‘school of economics’ and did not get the status of University. From the beginning, teaching faculty was appointed on an ad-hoc basis which has continued till today even after the school got the university status.
A few years ago, the government sanctioned 15 posts to appoint teaching faculty. Soon after, former VC Bhanumurthy prepared a statute as per the University Grants Commission guidelines and submitted it to the state government. The government sought certain clarifications. As Bhanumurthy’s term had ended, the clarification to be given to the government regarding recruitment of permanent staff was kept pending.”
He said, “When I was appointed VC in July 2025, I sent the clarifications to the state government and KSHEC. We were told it was sent to the state finance department. If the department clears the file and permits us, we can invite applications to fill positions. A written exam will be conducted for the candidates along with an interview.”
No PhD programmes offered
Due to lack of permanent faculty members, the university has not been able to conduct PhD programmes or take up research activities. As per UGC guidelines, a university must have permanent staff to hold PhD programmes so that PhD scholars are guided without any breaks.
Vishwanatha said, “Without PhD programmes, the university will not be able to come out with interesting studies on the condition of the economy or finance of the country and the world. It will remain like any other college teaching the same UG and PG courses in economics.
With permanent staff, we can even apply for grants or funds from the central government to conduct research studies.”
International standard curriculum requires qualified teachers Currently, the university has 15 non-permanent teaching staff whose contract gets renewed every 10 months and they are given a 5% salary hike every year. The university also has some visiting professors and industry experts who teach students.
He explained, “Because of the ad hoc arrangement, staff here have no job security and they are forced to look for better opportunities. If they move out, looking for another faculty member to teach our vast curriculum of high standards is a bit tough. Our curriculum is designed in such a way that it matches the standards of international universities. One should have a strong foundation in maths to teach in our university. There is a vast difference between the state syllabus of economics and our curriculum. While selecting teaching faculty, we keep mathematics as an eligibility criterion. Currently, those who teach at our university are from IIT and other reputed institutions. I am not saying that a candidate with a state syllabus background cannot teach here, but they must dedicate some extra time and put effort into analysing our syllabus and way of teaching.”