SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, July 15: The delay in due promotion has kept the lecturers of Jharkhand universities out of the Vice-Chancellor race in the state.
Applications were invited for the Vice-Chancellor post of three universities, including Sido Kanhu Murmu University (SKMU) Dumka, Kolhan University (KU) Chaibasa and Vinoba Bhave University (VBU) Hazaribagh recently.
A single candidate from Jharkhand, Prof Kunul Kandil, Department of Botany, Ranchi University has been able to apply for one of the V-C posts as no teacher in any seven universities of the state is eligible to claim.
Ten to 12 years’ experience of professorship is the main eligibility for applying for the post of Vice-Chancellor.
In Jharkhand universities, only Prof Kunul Kudil of Ranchi University has such an experience whereas no lecturer in any university has such qualification. Prof Kunul Kandil was also pro Vice-Chancellor of VBU Hazaribagh.
“Lack of eligible candidates in Jharkhand means all V-Cs would come from other states,” observed Dr Rajkumar, Secretary of the Federation of University Teachers Association of Jharkhand (FUTAJ), the frontal organization of teachers of all universities of the state.
Dr Rajkumar said that not to speak of 10 years’ experience of professorship as there is even no professor in political science, economics and history department in any university of Jharkhand. All are run by either associate or assistant professors.
Interestingly, in six years, old Binod Bihari Mahto Koylanchal University which has 21 postgraduate departments does not have a single professor in any faculty.
A retired professor of BBMKU said that it is unfortunate that Jharkhand is gasping for eligible V-C candidates in the state and has to hire from other states for the same.
“Vacuum has appeared due to delay in the promotion to 1996 and 2008 batch of teachers. If 2008 batch teachers were given timely promotions in 2012 and 2017, they would have been professors in March 2023. By 2033 there would have been lots of professors in the state to keep eligibility for the post of Vice-Chancellor,” observed the FUTAJ secretary.
The irony of state higher education is that even lecturers of the 1996 batch who preferred the Jharkhand cadre are waiting for a single promotion while teachers of their batch in the universities of Bihar have become professors.
Lecturers of the 2008 batch are not only deprived of promotion but also incur heavy losses in payment per month. At present, they are paid Grade pay of Rs 6000. If timely promotion were given at present, they would have been drawing Grade Pay of Rs 9,000 or Rs 10,000.
