Data | A third of Central varsity teaching positions lying vacant

Over 30% of teaching positions in 45 Central Universities across India are vacant. Odisha has the highest share of vacancies (88%), while Mizoram and Kerala have the least (15% or less). The Central University of Andhra Pradesh had a 100% vacancy. Caste-wise data shows that only 20% of General Category positions were vacant, compared to 44% among OBCs, 38% among SCs and 45% among STs. UGC has launched a portal to ensure vacancies are advertised on a single platform.

Over 30% of teaching positions are lying vacant in 45 Central Universities across India.

Of the 18,956 sanctioned teaching positions, about one-third (6,028) were vacant as of February, a Right To Information reply has revealed (Chart 1).

Chart 1 | The chart shows the number of sanctioned, vacant and filled posts in Central Universities.

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A State-wise split shows that 88% of the teaching positions were vacant in Odisha’s central universities — the highest among all States. Jammu & Kashmir U.T. and Tripura are the other two regions where more than half the posts were vacant. On the other hand, Mizoram and Kerala had the least share of vacancies — 15% or less (Chart 2).

Chart 2 | The chart shows the State-wise split of the share of vacant posts in Central Universities. Only top ten States are depicted

UGC Chairman Professor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar told The Hindu that vacancies in teaching positions arise when the Central University in question was founded newly. “Also, more vacancies can arise in some universities which are located in remote rural areas,” Prof. Kumar said. For instance, the Central University of Odisha is located in Sunabeda town of Koraput district in Odisha which is up to 486 km away from the State capital, Bhubaneshwar.