NIZAMABAD: Telangana University Teachers Association (TUTA) President Dr A Punnaiah has urged the state government to increase the retirement age of professors in universities from 60 to 65 years.
On Thursday, he along with TUTA members submitted a representation to Telangana University V-C T Yadagri Rao, requesting him to forward the appeal to the government.
Telangana University TUTA President Dr Punnaiah said that currently there are 12 universities under the Higher Education Department in Telangana but only 757 professors are currently working of the 2,817 sanctioned posts, leaving 75% of the posts vacant.
With two to three professors retiring every month in major universities like Osmania, JNTUH, Kakatiya and Professor Jayashankar Agricultural University, there are risks of these universities losing their NAAC grade eligibility, thereby disqualify them from receiving funds from the UGC, he said.
Dr Punnaiah pointed out the inconsistency in retirement policies, noting that while the retirement age for medical college professors and university non-teaching staff has been increased to 65 and 61, respectively, university professors still retire at 60, he said.