Guest lecturers' sum grows to 8,000 in TN colleges, but 4,000 asst professor posts lie vacant

CHENNAI: With the recruitment of assistant professors stalled for more than seven years, the number of guest lecturers in government Arts and Science colleges across Tamil Nadu has risen to nearly 8,000.

The Higher Education Department is struggling to fill around 4,000 sanctioned assistant professor posts due to legal hurdles. In the absence of permanent appointments, it has been inducting guest lecturers to meet teaching requirements.

A senior official of the Directorate of Collegiate Education (DCE), speaking on condition of anonymity, said all formalities, including the State Eligibility Test (SET) required for assistant professor appointments, had been completed.

“However, the results could not be published as the matter is pending in court,” the official said, adding that guest lecturers were appointed to ensure no disruption in students’ education.

According to V Thangaraj, state president of the All Tamil Nadu Government Colleges UGC-Qualified Honorary Lecturers’ Association, 7,364 honorary lecturers are working on a consolidated pay basis in 171 Arts, Science, and Education colleges.

“Additionally, the government recently sanctioned 15 new Arts and Science colleges and approved the appointment of 574 more honorary lecturers. Of these, 562 have already joined, bringing the total to 7,926,” he said.

Tracing the problem to a 2010 agreement in which the Higher Education Department promised to regularise the services of existing honorary lecturers, a commitment yet to be honoured, Thangaraj noted that guest lecturers in Tamil Nadu receive the lowest remuneration in the country. “In Kerala, UGC norms ensure a monthly salary of Rs 50,000; in Puducherry, Rs 40,000; in Haryana, following a Supreme Court ruling on equal pay for equal work, Rs 57,700; and in Punjab and Delhi, around Rs 50,000. In Tamil Nadu, lecturers continue to be paid far less,” he said.

He added that more than 500 lecturers have filed about 54 cases in the Madras High Court and its Madurai Bench seeking regularisation. “Several judgments have upheld our demand, yet the government has failed to implement them, instead filing appeals,” he said.

P Thirunavukkarasu, vice-chairman of the Association of University Teachers, urged the government to resolve the issue immediately. “The remaining assistant professor vacancies must be filled for the benefit of students, and measures must be in place to prevent such litigation in future appointments,” he said.