60% Faculty Posts Vacant at Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University in J&K; Junior Staff Overburdened

Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University (BGSBU) in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district is grappling with a severe faculty crisis, with 60.4 per cent of the sanctioned teaching posts, including all 22 posts of professors, lying vacant.

The shortfall has left junior faculty members overburdened, significantly impacting the quality of education, RTI activist Raman Kumar Sharma said on Wednesday.

Sharma filed an RTI application in February seeking details of vacant sanctioned posts at the university. He received a response from the university on Tuesday.

In a telling sign of the academic strain, the university's response stated that 80 assistant professors (stage II and III and scale I), 17 lecturers and one teaching assistant are currently running the show, holding together the teaching system in the absence of the senior faculty, including all 22 professors.

Sharing further details of the response, Kumar said 48 of the 50 associate professor posts and 72 of the 82 assistant professor posts are vacant. The university is functioning with a handful of junior teaching staff, he said.

He said the faculty shortfall stands at 60.4 per cent, with 142 out of the 235 sanctioned teaching posts lying vacant.

Out of the remaining 358 posts, 87, including that of four principals and one controller of examination, are vacant, straining the university's administrative functioning.

Kumar said the university has four sanctioned posts of principals, two posts of assistant registrars, one each post of controller of examination, assistant registrar (finance), medical officer, executive engineer and assistant director (sports) -- all of which are also unfilled.

Out of the 17 posts of tutors, 15 are vacant, while 12 of the 18 posts of attendant/receptionist remain unfilled. Three posts each of laboratory technicians and laboratory assistants are also vacant, he said.

Three posts of junior assistants, one post each of coordinator of regional offices at Srinagar and Kishtwar, senior library assistant, assistant security officer, placement assistant and extension scientist and 19 general duty helpers are also vacant, the document stated.