Hiring of 981 regular lecturers at govt colleges hits hurdle as file stuck with PPSC

File not cleared due to delay on part of the state government in appointing the service commission chairman

Initiated after a long hiatus of 19 years, the process of hiring 931 lecturers, or assistant professors, on a regular basis at 48 government colleges in the state has hit a stumbling block as the file related to the recruitment is lying with the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) for five months.

The Punjab Public Service Commission head office.

The file has not been cleared due to delay on part of the state government in appointing the commission chairman after Lt Gen Surinder Singh (retd) retired from the post in early July. According to the rule, only the chairman is authorised to give approvals for issuing advertisements on hiring by various government departments.

The state department of higher education had submitted the file with the commission in April after completing all the formalities. Director of public instructions (DPI colleges) Paramjit Singh said there is no delay on their part as the department is waiting for the nod from the commission. “We are hopeful that the file will be cleared and advertisement will be issued thereafter,” he said.

The recruitment of college lecturers on a regular basis in Punjab was done last in 2002 when the vigilance bureau busted a cash-for-job scam. The recruitments remained stalled for a long time as the matter was sub judice.

In Punjab, there are 1,873 sanctioned posts of lecturers, of which 1,292 are laying vacant. To overcome the staff shortage, the department has roped in 882 guest faculty and 251 part-time lecturers.

Guest faculty demands relaxation

The guest faculty and 251 part-time lecturers at government colleges are uncertain about their jobs as the process of appointment of regular assistant professors has kickstarted.

They have urged the state government to give relaxations in the recruitment process so that their jobs could be regularised.

Deepak Kaushal, member of the Guest Faculty Assistant Professors’ Association, said with less than 70% regular lecturers in government colleges, the guest faculty forms the backbone of these institutions. “We want relaxation in age bar as 50% guest lecturers have crossed the age limit to apply for other government jobs,” he added.