State government-funded engineering colleges in Uttar Pradesh can no longer select their faculty members, says an official order that has left academics worried whether the teachers appointed in future would suit the institutes’ requirements or feel accountable to them.
The state technical education department issued an order on Friday saying the APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University (AKTU), to which these colleges are affiliated, will handle the entire selection process for faculty posts at these institutions.
The order, issued by department joint secretary Prabhakar Chandra Mishra, says the selection committees for faculty appointments will be headed by the AKTU vice-chancellor, and will include three subject experts recommended by the VC.
Till now, the boards of governors of these engineering colleges appointed the subject experts to the selection panel, which was headed by the AKTU vice-chancellor or an expert appointed by the state government. The director of each engineering institute was vice-chairperson of the panel.
The new procedure violates apex regulator All India Council of Technical Education’s guidelines which are, however, not binding on state universities.
According to AICTE rules, selection panels are to be headed by the institute’s board chairperson or his or her nominee, and are to include the director or principal of the institute, the head of the department concerned at the institute, two subject experts nominated by the board chairperson, and two nominees of the VC of the affiliating university.
The VC of a university and three faculty members from two different institutions told The Telegraph, on the condition of anonymity, that the faculty members appointed through the new procedure would not be accountable to the college board or director.
“When their selection will be done entirely by the AKTU vice-chancellor and his nominees, why should they listen to the director of the institute? The functioning of the institutes will be severely affected,” a senior faculty member said.
The VC who spoke to this newspaper said that each institute has its strengths and weaknesses, and is best placed to handle faculty selections based on its requirements.
“So far, the existing system has worked well; there has been no complaint. It’s beyond our comprehension why the government gave the entire power (of faculty selection) to the affiliating university, which only awards degrees to students,” he said.
An email was sent to Kripa Shankar Singh, special secretary with the Uttar Pradesh technical education department, seeking the reasons for the changes to the faculty selection procedures. His response is awaited.