In 17 Madhya Pradesh Universities, 74% Assistant Professor Posts Vacant

The Madhya Pradesh government has disclosed that 74 per cent of sanctioned posts for Assistant Professors in government universities are lying vacant. Out of 1,069 sanctioned posts in 17 government universities, 793 posts are vacant.

The revelation was made in a written response by Higher Education Minister Inder Singh Parmar to a question raised by Congress MLA Sanjay Uike in the Assembly. The response uncovers the staggering magnitude of faculty shortage, revealing the crumbling academic infrastructure of the state.

More revealing is the fact that five government universities in the state have not even one Assistant Professor on their rolls. These are: Raja Shankar Shah University (Chhindwara), Krantiveer Tatya Tope University (Guna), Kranti Surya Tantya Bhil University (Khargone), Maharaja Chhatrasal Bundelkhand University (Chhatarpur), Rani Avantibai Lodhi University (Sagar).

This means that thousands of students are studying in institutions without even one full-time assistant professor to guide them.

As per the reply by the minister, 93 academic disciplines are being conducted in different universities that have absolutely no assistant professors. Presently, only 276 Assistant Professors are teaching students in all 17 universities.

Interestingly, this crisis is not exclusive to faculty positions. BJP MLA, Dr Chintamani Malviya, asked the minister about vacancies for librarians in government colleges. The government conceded that out of 582 sanctioned vacancies for librarians, only 236 are occupied, while 346 posts are vacant.

Over the past few years, the government has established a number of new universities in great fanfare with ribbon-cutting ceremonies and grand announcements. But these institutions are now gasping under administrative lack of care and staff complacency. 

Campuses are present only in name without teachers, without facilities, and without the educational leadership to mold the minds of the coming generations.