Hyderabad: Nearly half of Telangana’s government degree colleges are functioning without regular principals, with in-charge officials holding additional responsibility, raising concerns over administration and academic supervision, a lecturers’ body has said.
Of the 159 government degree colleges in the state, 75 do not have regular principals, according to the Qualified Government Degree Lecturers Association (QGDLA). The association said the vacancies were affecting day-to-day administration, admissions and academic monitoring, with a single principal in some cases overseeing two or even three colleges.
A government degree lecturer, who did not wish to be identified, said a principal has to handle admissions, examinations, staff matters, academic planning, inspections and several other administrative responsibilities, and that managing more than one college makes it difficult to devote sufficient time to each institution, The New Indian Express (TNIE) reported.
Another lecturer told TNIE that the impact was particularly visible during admissions and examination periods, when students often need immediate decisions on certificates, scholarships, attendance and examination-related matters. When a principal holds additional charge elsewhere, even routine matters can take longer, the lecturer said.
Promotion logjam root of problem
The vacancies have brought back into focus the long-pending issue of recruitment and promotion of degree lecturers. Around 151 eligible lecturers are awaiting promotion, with candidates drawn from different recruitment batches, the main point of contention being the integrated seniority list.
The QGDLA has demanded that the 1998 batch of junior lecturers be placed above the 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005 batches, arguing that recruitment seniority should be taken into account while determining eligibility for promotion.
According to the association, qualified candidates were promoted in the first phase of the 2010 Departmental Promotion Committee, covering the 1998, 2001, 2002 and 2004 junior lecturer batches. It alleged that unqualified candidates were subsequently given conditional promotions and that several of them were not reverted despite failing to acquire the prescribed qualifications.
QGDLA president TS Praveen Kumar, an associate professor of English, told TNIE that the issue dated back to the recruitment and promotion process for junior lecturers moving up to degree lecturer posts. He pointed out that a 1990 government order made National Eligibility Test (NET) or State Level Eligibility Test (SLET) qualification compulsory for appointment as degree lecturers, while subsequent orders provided various relaxations.
Filling the 75 principal vacancies through a transparent, rule-based promotion process would help strengthen administration and ensure that senior, qualified lecturers get an opportunity to head government degree colleges before retirement, he said.
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