DCE guest faculty bill may shoot up to 1 crore

A faculty crunch at the premier Delhi College of Engineering due to delays in hiring has forced the institution to increase remuneration for guest faculty, reports Swaha Sahoo.

A faculty crunch at the premier Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) due to delays in hiring has forced the institution to put aside a whopping Rs 1 crore for guest faculty for the 2008-09 academic session, said its principal. From the Rs 40 lakh that the engineering college spent last year, it marks a massive hike.

HT Image

“We have increased remuneration as we want quality and have to take into account accommodation and transport costs,” said DCE Principal A K Bhattacharya.

The college has around 250 sanctioned posts for faculty. While there are 100 permanent teachers, 40 work on a contractual basis. Despite this, the faculty shortage at the college is an enormous 56 per cent.

Appointment of faculty through the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) can take up to two years, reveals administrative officer K Singh. “We keep sending reminders to UPSC to expedite it,” said Singh.

Bhattacharya says 20 faculty members will join shortly and another 10 are being interviewed. But teachers maintain that the recruitment process has to be streamlined. “The government should take steps to see that appointments take place quickly,” said Vishal Verma, Assistant Professor, Electrical Engineering.

A committee headed by Prof P V Indirasen formed by the Delhi government in August 2007 to review the functioning of the college, is yet to submit its report. “It is finalising the recommendations,” adds the Chief Minister.