Staff crunch: Madras HC order brings to fore whats ailing Anna University

An order of the court on Monday highlighted that the premier institution has less than half the number of regular staff it ought to have.
Much of the show in the university is run by temporary faculty, some of whom are paid on an hourly basis. (Photo | EPS)
Much of the show in the university is run by temporary faculty, some of whom are paid on an hourly basis. (Photo | EPS)

CHENNAI: Anna University is Tamil Nadu's premier technology university and often political parties fight to take credit for its stature. But an order of the Madras high court on Monday has highlighted that the premier institution has less than half the number of regular staff it ought to have. Much of the show is run by temporary faculty, some of whom are paid on an hourly basis.

The high court order expressed shock at the state of affairs. The temporary faculty, the varsity staffed to compensate, welcomed the judgment and said that it may give them a fair chance at permanent recruitment.

Anna University should have had 1,284 faculty members for undergraduate courses and 120 for postgraduate courses, according to guidelines stipulated by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). Though the 111th Finance Committee had sanctioned 981 posts, only 556 posts had been filled with regular staff, while the rest were temporary.

AICTE regulations require engineering colleges to maintain a faculty-student ratio of 1:15 for undergraduate courses and 1:20 for postgraduate courses.

With 13 constituent colleges and three regional campuses, Anna University is a premier institute in the state. While it had recently told the centre that it can generate over Rs 300 cr revenue on its own for the purpose of the institute of eminence tag, about half its teachers were not recruited in the regular mode.

Justice N Anand Venkatesh on Monday observed that, "It is even more shocking that the teaching faculty were engaged even on an hourly basis. Fortunately, it is informed that this practice has been dispensed with. This is not the manner in which a reputed university should be functioning."

Express could not reach the Anna University registrar L Karunamoorthy for comments. MK Surappa, the Vice-Chancellor of the varsity said that recruitment for the permanent posting has begun already. "We will follow regulations mandated by the court," he said. He however did not comment if the temporary faculty will be paid on par with assistant professors until regular recruitment is made for the post.

Some of the temporary faculty at Anna University Express spoke to welcome the judgment and say that many of them felt discriminated against. "We had the same academic and administrative workload as assistant professors, but we were paid only a third or fourth of their pay," said a temporary faculty member from the main campus in Chennai.

A temporary faculty member from one of the constituent colleges who was terminated in June 2019 said they were recruited only for six months at a time and the management decided to terminate anyone who criticised it. She said that she was terminated after working with the varsity for seven years. "A ten-member committee conducted a 1.5-hour test and interviewed me as well. We were picked to the spot on merit.

The Court order will ensure that the varsity considers our experience while applying for a permanent posting," she said.

The Judge further observed that the figures give a clear picture with regard to the state of affairs prevailing in the university and opined that, "It is surprising that students who come out of this university are faring well despite the non-availability of sufficient faculty."

He added that either the students are extremely bright or the available faculty is performing an extraordinary task with excellent teaching skills. "The fact remains that the university will have to take immediate steps to fill the vacancies through regular appointments," he said.

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