Utkal univ may lose Rs 100 cr if vacancies are not filled up

Bhubaneswar: The ministry of human resource development (MHRD) said it will revoke the Rs 100 crore grant given to Utkal University under the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) scheme unless it fills up faculty vacancies (against more than 100 posts) within six months.
The Utkal University has 144 teachers against its sanctioned 257 posts. It has to fill up 113 teaching posts (44 per cent of the total strength) immediately to save the grant. The university has an acute shortage of teachers, including 31 professors, 39 associate professors and 43 assistant professors.
In a review meeting, the MHRD officials said the state government should relax the ban on recruitment, else grants released to Utkal University will be taken back. The varsity is unable to recruit faculty members because the state government has put a temporary ban on appointment across all universities in the state due to a reservation issue. The department of higher education under the MHRD had conducted a review meeting of 10 state universities, including Utkal, on May 30 and had discussed the progress to improve their quality. The institutions have already received Rs 100 crore each for the same.
The state higher education department had on May 9 directed all universities on sto start the recruitment process, but put a ban on the recruitment on May 27 till further instruction.
“After getting a green signal from the higher education department, we will start the recruitment process,” said Dayanidhi Nayak, registrar of the university.
The UGC expressed concern over the shortage of teaching posts in higher education institutions. It has asked the universities, affiliated colleges and deemed-to-be universities to fill up vacancies within six months. Any violation of the UGC guidelines may lead to appropriate action by the commission against the institutions, including withholding the grants, a letter issued by the UGC on Tuesday said.
Saswat Mishra, the state higher education department secretary, said, “The government will soon issue a further order to start the recruitment process. We will start the appointment process and complete it within six months, he maintained.