No faculty appointed for computer science course at Dharapuram College in Tamil Nadu
COIMBATORE: Thirty-first-year Computer Science students at the Government Arts and Science College at Dharapuram in Tiruppur district, have not had any classes for their core subjects since the college opened. The Directorate of Collegiate Education (DCE) has yet to appoint a single faculty member for the course.
A student told the TNIE that since the undergraduate computer science course was introduced this academic year, about 30 students, including himself, have enrolled.
"We have been attending college for more than two and a half months, but we have not learned anything from core subjects like computing fundamentals, C programming, digital fundamentals, or computer architecture. Even for our allied paper, Mathematical Structures for Computer Science, no classes have been held because there isn't a single faculty member to teach the core subjects in the first semester. We only have classes for Tamil and English. Our fundamental education is being neglected," he said.
The students have urged college officials to appoint faculty members to conduct classes so their time is not wasted.
According to sources at the DCE, no teaching posts were sanctioned for the college this year for the new course due to an officer's mistake. In response, the college administration has submitted a petition requesting the appointment of new teaching faculty for the computer science program.
The article noted that this is part of a larger issue of staff shortages. For example, only one faculty member is handling the entire costume design and fashion department at Palladam College in Tiruppur. Additionally, two teaching staff from Government Arts College in Udhagamandalam visit the Government Arts and Science College in Coonoor once a week to handle classes for an allied paper. Staff shortages are also affecting undergraduate courses introduced in the second shift at Government Arts Colleges.
When asked about the situation, a DCE official told the TNIE that steps are being taken to appoint teaching faculty for the computer science course soon.
"The DCE recently appointed more than 550 Guest Lecturers (GLs) in government colleges across the state, and a few of them have yet to join. GLs will be appointed in colleges where they are needed to resolve the staff shortage," she said.