BENGALURU: An internal survey on workload analysis conducted by the Department of Collegiate Education in government colleges of Bengaluru urban district has left them shocked. It found that 24 professors have zero workload and yet they are drawing salaries. As many as 45 of professors have less than the stipulated number of work hours. The department now intends to issue an order so that no salaries can be drawn by teachers with no workload.
The analysis also found that there were six extra guest faculties which were not needed in the colleges.
Professors with zero workload in the city are related to subjects like physics, political science, sociology, economics, social work, psychology, history, English, geography, Hindi and commerce.
The stipulated work hours per week for a professor is 20 for subjects with lab works and 16 for subjects with no lab works.
“As fewer students are opting for subjects like sociology and history, professors teaching them do not have workload. This is also the case with non-core subjects like computer fundamentals and Indian constitution. Professors opt for these in order to have less work,” said an official of the department.
“They also avoid going to places in North Karnataka where the workload is more, as student enrolment is higher there. They use political influence to get transfers to places like Bengaluru, Mysuru and Tumkur which have less workload,” the official said, adding,” in one government college, we found fake enrolment of students. While there were 120 students on paper, only 26 actually attended the college”, the official said.
“The department plans to bring in order so that no salaries can be drawn if there is no workload. The faculty with no or less workload will be moved out and put in a place where there is vacancy,” the official said.
A professor on the condition of anonymity said, “for example, if a department in a Bengaluru college has 22 sanctioned posts, a person from a rural area with political influence will get himself deputed as the 23rd professor, thereby reducing the workload of others. He will be given subjects such as environment science, computer literacy or Indian constitution which can be taught by a professor of any qualification. These subjects do not have exams, owing to which students do not bother to attend the classes. The professor, therefore, enjoys no workload, while continuing to draw salary.”
“The seat left vacant in a rural area by this professor will be filled up by a guest faculty... The number of guest faculties in several colleges are more than the number of permanent faculty,” the professor added.