Self-financing colleges, principals believe, will have a breather this year, now that the Central government has announced its decision to put on hold the plan to make Ph.D. the minimum qualification for recruitment of assistant professors, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The managements of the institutions do anticipate a formal communication from the University Grants Commission in this regard, though there is a general sense of relief that vacancies could be filled with the ideal candidates from a much larger pool of applicants.
While setting the criteria for recruitments for entry-level posts at universities and colleges in 2018, the University Grants Commission had given a three-year window to candidates to complete their doctorate degrees and asked all universities and colleges to start applying the criteria for recruitment from the 2021-22 academic session.
“The statement of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan that the mandatory requirement of Ph.D. for the post of assistant professors will be lifted as a one-time measure to fill unfilled vacancies, is indeed a timely intervention in the interests of not only the new applicants with PG qualification but also the section of existing teachers who are pursuing their doctorate degrees on a part-time basis,” V. Sujatha, Principal, Cauvery College for Women, Tiruchi, said.
But for a few subjects including Tamil and Commerce, it has become extremely difficult for self financing colleges to recruit teachers with Ph.D. qualification, according to the college heads.
“Yet, having more number of faculty without Ph.d. qualification must, in fact, be viewed also as a bane for self-financing affiliated colleges in the long run since the institutions struggle to make a mark in the NIRF ranking," Ms. Sujatha pointed out.
The institutions lose out in the ‘Teaching-Learning and Evaluation' criterion of NAAC accreditation that contributes a weightage of 350 (out of 1,000 marks),” she explained.
The managements of self-financing colleges are looking forward to derive the utility of the window period accruing from the Central government’s decision to facilitate teachers of BBA/MBA programmes to complete their doctorate degrees.
“It is extremely difficult to get candidates with Ph.d. qualification for the Department of Management. Two years of teaching experience for newly recruited teachers will qualify them to enrol for part-time Ph.D.” I. Sarumathi, Principal, Annai Women's Arts and Science College, Karur, said.
“Nevertheless, it is important to note that the reprieve from the relaxation is only for this year, and that the University Grants Commission’s basic requirement of Ph.D. for teaching jobs is what would be permanent," Ms. Sarumathi said.
