WARANGAL: Despite being one of the most important and prestigious varsities in the State, nearly two-thirds of faculty posts are lying vacant in the Kakatiya University (KU), Warangal, which graduates thousands of students every year. Of the total of 391 faculty positions across all departments, about 279 posts are lying vacant in the university.
Though the varsity is often hailed as the epicentre of student movements which have brought about various changes in the Telugu society, one being the fearless struggle demanding separate Statehood for Telangana, KU has been reeling under faculty crunch for the past six years and no authorities have, till date, taken any steps to resolve this issue.
Comprising a total of seven colleges and 25 departments, KU has been a lifeline for scores of students hailing from rural backgrounds.When Express accessed official records regarding sanctioned posts, it was found that though the authorities had sanctioned the recruitment of 54 professors, 95 associate professors and 242 assistant professors, the varsity currently has only 112 regular professors.
‘Situation is deplorable’
Speaking to Express, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) KU unit president M Sandeep Kumar pointed out what is even more devastating is that many departments have only one professor and some of them will retire soon. “How is the varsity supposed to function without professors? Is the government planning to shut down the university,” he asked.
He further said: “It is a known fact that without a vice-chancellor, recruitment of regular staff cannot be carried out. As several professors will retire soon, most departments will start running with contract and part-time lecturers. Regular courses will become self-financed courses. This will become a huge burden for the students. It’s been almost three years since the authorities issued a PhD notification. All this will affect KU’s NAAC grading.”
When Express spoke to a few varsity officials, they too admitted that KU is reeling under faculty crunch. They, however, said that the recruitment process is getting delayed due to various reasons, as a result of which they are forced to hire contract and part-time lecturers.