Odisha universities asked to complete faculty recruitment by November-end

Odisha Governor and Chancellor of state universities Hari Babu Kambhampati has directed vice-chancellors of state public universities to accelerate the recruitment of teaching faculty and complete the process by the end of November.

The direction was issued during a meeting on faculty recruitment at Lok Bhavan on Oct 3. Kambhampati said filling vacant teaching positions was the next major challenge for state universities after the appointment of regular vice-chancellors.

The Governor asked universities to initiate the recruitment process by the first week of November and set clear timelines for completing appointments by the end of the month.

Governor stresses merit in faculty appointments

Kambhampati emphasised that merit and quality should remain the primary considerations while appointing teaching faculty.

“Merit should be the priority in the appointment of teaching faculty. Quality and merit cannot be compromised,” he said, according to the New Indian Express report.

He also proposed a change in the initial recruitment process. Instead of extensive shortlisting and scrutiny before interviews, the Governor suggested that universities consider calling all eligible applicants for interviews.

According to Kambhampati, this approach would reduce the possibility of eligible candidates being excluded at the initial stage and provide interview panels with a wider pool of candidates to assess.

Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj supported the Governor's suggestions and asked vice-chancellors to establish timelines for completing faculty recruitment. Higher Education Commissioner-cum-Secretary Aravind Agrawal presented the status of faculty recruitment at the state public universities during the meeting.

Faculty vacancies remain a challenge

The recruitment push comes amid a significant shortage of regular teaching faculty across Odisha's state universities.

Government data cited by the Times of India showed that 1,450 of 2,086 sanctioned teaching posts across 17 public universities were vacant as of August 31. The vacancies included 265 professor posts, 470 associate professor posts and 715 assistant professor posts.

The shortage has also led universities to depend on guest faculty to maintain academic activities. According to the same government data cited by TOI, around 425 guest faculty members had been engaged across the 17 universities.

Faculty recruitment had been delayed over changes in the recruitment mechanism and legal challenges surrounding the Odisha Universities (Amendment) Act, 2020. The state amended the legislation in 2024, after which universities were able to resume the recruitment process.

Kambhampati recalled that vice-chancellors of 14 universities were appointed on a single day after he assumed office as Governor and said attention should now turn to strengthening the universities through regular faculty appointments.

Governor seeks uniformity in VC tenure

The meeting also covered the functioning and development of state public universities.

Kambhampati suggested that vice-chancellors across state public universities should have a common tenure. He pointed out that some universities currently have three-year VC tenures while others have four-year terms.

The Governor also sought information from universities pursuing accreditation and encouraged institutions to work towards green certification.

Referring to the platinum green certification received by Odisha Lok Bhavan from the Indian Green Building Council, he said universities could work towards similar certification by making additional efforts, particularly given the green cover already present on many campuses.

He further urged universities to expand the use of solar power on their campuses, either through their own initiatives or through the Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) model.

With the November deadline set for faculty recruitment, universities have been asked to move from the existing recruitment process towards time-bound appointments, while maintaining merit and quality as key criteria.