The higher education department has decided to curtail the engagement of faculty on contract basis for government degree colleges. The move comes in wake of depletion in the central pool fund in the department.
The central pool fund is a portion of fee paid by eachstudent annually towards his college. The colleges collectively deposit theamount to the higher education department wherein it is stored as central poolfund.
Over the years the department has been utilising the amountto meet out the salary of academic arrangements engaged by the colleges.
“The central pool fund is depleting at a very fast pace dueto engagement of academic arrangements over and above the sanctioned vacantposts. In order to rationalize the engagement of academic arrangements, thehigher education department has fixed the certain norms,” reads a letteraddressed to the nodal principal of Kashmir and Jammu division colleges.
The academic arrangements in the colleges are engaged inaddition to the sanctioned strength of the colleges.
“The salary of contractual lecturers appointed againstavailable posts is managed through state budget while as the salary of thecontractual staff engaged in addition to approved posts is managed from centralpool fund,” an official said.
The department has also written letter to the nodalprincipal of the colleges and instructed all the degree college principals notto allow or encourage additional staff than required in the institution.
The department has fixed a particular teacher-student ratiofor engagement of the academic arrangements in the colleges for theundergraduate and post graduate courses offered to the students.
For undergraduate courses, the higher education departmenthas fixed a teacher-student ratio of 1:80 for science subjects while as 1:320has been fixed for Arts subjects.
“In case of post-graduate courses, teacher student ratio hasbeen fixed as 1:30 for science subjects and 1:120 for Arts subjects,” theletter reads.
However, the UGC has fixed the teacher student ratio of 1:25for under graduate courses and 1:20 for post graduate courses.
Experts apprehend that the ratio fixed by the department mayaffect the quality of education in the colleges.
Meanwhile, the department has asked the colleges that thecriteria is required to be followed and should corroborate with classrooms andlaboratories available in the colleges.
“Where there is deficiency of infrastructure the number canbe increased and adjusted accordingly,” reads the letter.
In case of new colleges, where the enrollment of anyparticular subject is below 20, no academic arrangement will be engaged by thedepartment.
“No academic arrangement is required to be engaged for thesesubjects in any circumstances and the teaching may be imparted through guest faculty,”reads the letter.
The department has devised a format and asked the collegeprincipals to furnish the details about the subjects offered, enrollment of thestudents, sanctioned strength, permanent faculty and their teaching hours.Also, the colleges have been asked to submit the details of academicarrangements and their teaching hours.
According to official figures the approximate sanctionedteaching staff strength of colleges in state is 3501 out of which 2641 postshave been filled. The number of contractual lecturers in the colleges is around2000 out of which 1040 are adjusted against available posts while as 970 are”managed” on pool fund.
A NET qualified contractual lecturer is paid Rs 28000 permonth while as the one without NET is paid Rs 22000 per month. The salary wasenhanced from last year only: earlier it was 18000 for NET qualified and Rs12000 for other category.
Director colleges J&K, Muhammad Yaseen Shah said the newratio fixed by the department won’t affect the quality as the students will bedivided in different groups for attending their classes.
“If a class has 120 students, they will be divided in fourgroups and the concerned teacher will be asked to take four classes. Similarlyin case of science subjects, the students will be divided in various groups forpractical classes in laboratories,” he said.
He however said the government was not rigid on these issuesand will take fulfill the requirement of teachers once justified by thecollege.