JAIPUR: Rajasthan’s state-funded universities are facing a severe shortage of teachers amid a slow pace of recruitment, according to information provided by the state government in the assembly.
Between January 2024 and July 2026, only one of the state’s 32 universities completed regular faculty recruitment.
During this period, four universities advertised regular teaching posts, while another issued an advertisement for contractual appointments. Recruitment remained limited to a handful of institutions even as a large number of teachers retired. Eight major universities in Rajasthan currently have 1,211 vacant teaching posts, with Rajasthan University accounting for the highest number of vacancies at 615.
Jai Narain Vyas University in Jodhpur has 312 vacant posts against a sanctioned strength of 481, while Mohanlal Sukhadia University in Udaipur has 203 vacancies out of 300 sanctioned posts. Bikaner Technical University has 64 vacancies out of 77 sanctioned posts, while Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University in Ajmer has 41 vacancies against a sanctioned strength of 48.
Rajasthan Sanskrit University has 31 vacant posts out of 50. The University of Kota has 23 vacancies against 30 sanctioned positions, while Vardhman Mahaveer Open University has 21 vacant posts out of 37.
At Rajasthan University, 615 of the 1,016 sanctioned teaching posts, or around 61%, are vacant. As many as 108 teachers retired from the university between 2024 and July 2026, further worsening the shortage.
Administrative and legal hurdles are among the main reasons for delays in recruitment. Hiring processes at state universities are frequently stalled by disputes over recruitment rules, inconsistencies in reservation rosters and court cases.
Although all 32 universities are autonomous and authorised to conduct their own recruitment, their administrations are often unable to advertise vacancies without financial and administrative approval from the state government. Universities have increasingly relied on temporary arrangements instead of filling permanent posts. Guest faculty members and research scholars are engaged to conduct classes for hourly honorariums, while regular teaching positions remain vacant.
The shortage has adversely affected the student-teacher ratio. UGC norms prescribe one teacher for every 20 students, but in several departments at Rajasthan University, more than 100 students are dependent on a single teacher.
The high vacancy rate has also affected research, the introduction of new courses and the implementation of the National Education Policy. The policy requires universities to offer multidisciplinary, skill-based and specialised courses, increasing the need for qualified faculty members.
A shortage of permanent teachers can also affect universities’ national rankings and accreditation by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, as faculty strength is an important component of institutional assessment.
Prolonged recruitment delays have caused frustration among thousands of candidates holding NET, SET and PhD qualifications. Many aspirants fear becoming ineligible on age grounds while waiting for recruitment exercises that have remained stalled for years.
Higher Education Minister Prem Chand Bairwa recently directed universities to advertise vacant teaching posts and complete recruitment promptly. However, hiring at several institutions remains held up by administrative, financial and legal hurdles.
Rajiv Gupta, a senior educationist and former head of the Department of Sociology at Rajasthan University, said that neoliberal economics, in fact, never allows governments to improve public sector universities.
Employment for the younger generations of marginalised communities is not a priority of state governments; thus, the decay of public sector universities is intentional. He said, "Public Sector Universities always provide opportunities to middle-middle and lower classes, including women minorities, scheduled castes schedule tribes and rural communities for higher education led abilities.
"State Governments never wish to create that realm which makes people of marginalised sections conscious with the frame of higher education. Secondly, if governments recruit faculty in public sector universities, then private universities will not flourish, which are governed/controlled by corporates, big businessmen, politicians and bureaucrats."
