TIRUCHY: A total of 328 teaching fellows attached to the 16 constituent colleges of Anna University express concerns over their professional continuity as they complain that their contracts haven’t been renewed since the start of this year, placing them on the waitlist for about two months now.
Several of the affected teaching fellows said they have been serving the university for over a decade, having been engaged in phases since 2010 onconsolidated monthly salaries ranging from Rs 27,000 to Rs 30,000.
Jaison Vimal Raj, a teaching fellow with 13 years of service at the constituent college in Tiruchy, said the exclusion was disproportionate. "We take the same number of classes as permanent faculty. Removing 328 fellows while only about 190 permanent staff have come in clearly shows the imbalance," he said.
According to representatives of the teaching fellows, 232 were recruited as permanent faculty members through the Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB), of whom about 190 joined duty in December 2025.
Keeping 328 experienced fellows out of classrooms, however, has sharply reduced teaching strength across the 16 campuses, increasing workload for the remaining faculty and affecting efficiency, they added.
Saravana Kumar, a coordinator of the teaching fellows, cited Tiruchy as a case in point. "The campus now has about 145 permanent staff. Forty-eight teaching fellows were taken out, while only 15 joined through the TRB. The overall staff strength has effectively come down," he said.
Permanent faculty members, however, are being asked to handle up to 25 hours of teaching per week, well above the norms of 16 hours. Guest lecturers engaged on an hourly basis to offset the shortage have also not been deployed consistently, he claimed.
Echoing the concerns, a teaching fellow from Thoothukudi said the constituent college there had largely functioned with teaching fellows a decade ago. "After years of service, we were suddenly told not to report for classes," the fellow claimed.
In Madurai, Raj Kumar, who has served since 2010, questioned why the service of around 50 teaching fellows in Anna University's Chennai campuses alone has been extended till June 2026, and not those serving in constituent colleges. The contract of the teaching fellows has a three-month validity.
The teaching fellows alleged that the decision was based on oral instructions from the university administration and accused officials of artificially shrinking the teaching workload through academic restructuring like merging the Tamil and English medium sections, reorganising departments to bring faculty requirements below sanctioned levels, and integrated theory-lab courses to cut teaching hours.
University officials, however, denied any mala fide intent. They said that the overall workload had reduced due to curriculum changes and the rollout of the Naan Mudhalvan scheme, which brings in external experts for specific verticals.
Further, teaching fellows were given additional weightage in TRB examinations, but only a small number qualified, a senior official said. "They are contractual employees, and decisions on continuation depend on academic and administrative requirements," the official added.
Meanwhile, the teaching fellows warned that prolonged vacancies in core subjects and delays in internal assessments could adversely affect the students. A representation has been submitted with Higher Education Secretary P Shankar, and plans are on to meet Minister for Higher Education Govi Cheziaan later this week seeking his urgent intervention, they said.