Around 30 Degree Colleges in Jammu and Kashmir are headless for many months and 600 posts of college assistant professors are lying vacant, reflecting administrative apathy in filling up the key posts.
Senior faculty members of the respective Colleges inaddition to their own duties manage the posts of the College principals.
Rendering the Colleges headless has created administrativeand academic crises in these higher educational institutions, putting studentsat the receiving end.
“Though the department has given DDO powers to the seniorfaculty members who are manning post of the principals but most of them arereluctant in decision-making which hampers the overall progress of theinstitutions,” an official said.
Recently, the higher education department took variousdecisions aimed at overall development of the Colleges but most of theinitiatives proved a non-starter for no permanent principals.
The department had decided to set up career counseling cellsand internal committees to have a check on the sexual harassment in theColleges while as principals were also directed to ensure establishment andproper working of internal complaints committees against sexual harassment inline with the Vishakha guidelines.
“In some of the colleges these initiatives are under processwhile as in some colleges the heads are yet to take any decisions on theseissues,” the official said.
The direction for setting up coaching centres in Collegesand participation of principals in taking up class work in their respectivefields is yet to be started in various Colleges as well.
Besides permanent heads, the higher education department hasfailed to fill around 600 posts of assistant professors in the Colleges,creating a dearth of teaching staff across state.
“While the permanent faculty is yet to be recruited, thedepartment is hiring academic arrangements on contract basis for Colleges totake classes of undergraduate students,” the official said.
The government recently announced setting up 102 new Collegesin the state in addition to around 96 already functioning for decades.
To begin with the department has started making new Collegesfunctional from makeshift arrangements at various places for which theauthorities are shifting permanent faculty members from old Colleges to thesenewly announced ones.
“It has also added to the academic crises in the Collegesgiven the dearth of staff in existing Colleges. If the department wants to makenew Colleges functional then it should be followed by fast track recruitment ofassistant professors as well,” said president college teachers associationJ&K, Prof Tariq Ashai.
The department has shifted permanent faculty members fromGDC Tangmarg, Sopore, Khan Sahab and other Colleges and posted them in newlyapproved Colleges.
Secretary higher education department, Talat Parvez Ruhella,said the vacancy of Principal posts would be filled by July end.
“We have also started process for recruitment of assistantprofessors through J&K PSC which will overcome the dearth of teaching staffin Colleges,” Ruhella said.
About shifting of staff from exiting Colleges to the newones, Ruhella said the issue was being taken care of.
“Around 600 posts of assistant professors will be filled andthere will be no crises in Colleges,” he said.