New Delhi: India invented the zero. Now it has come up with the zero-professor university.
More than six years after being set up, the Central University of Orissa in Koraput has not a single professor yet and just one associate professor for its 14 departments and 776 students, who include PhD scholars.
Koraput is in a Maoist zone and is 200km from the nearest airport in Visakhapatnam. But Sachidananda Mohanty, who joined as vice-chancellor in August, denies that location is a deterrent.
The Central University of Karnataka, at Kadaganchi village in Gulbarga, is 220km from Hyderabad and 620km from Bangalore but has seven professors and about 20 associate professors.
Of the 46 assistant professors in Koraput, 28 joined on contract or as guest faculty.
When the first VC, Surabhi Banerjee, ended her five-year tenure in February last year, there was no professor to hand over charge to. Teaching posts were advertised twice under Banerjee, in 2009-10 and 2012-13, but varsity officials said the response was poor.
“Repeated advertisements and overtures to potential candidates may have done it but weren’t attempted,” an official said.
A.M. Pathan, a former VC, suggested the main problem was the lack of pension portability – teachers from the older central universities have to resign to join the newer ones, which pay only contribution-based pension.
A former university administrator said poor academic infrastructure and lack of basic amenities can hamper recruitment.
Mohanty alleged that the new campus, which houses some departments, lacked power and water till he joined. He said a bid to improve infrastructure was on and teaching posts would be advertised afresh over the next two months.
Banerjee said she had advertised the posts “several times” but “many were reluctant” to join or weren’t good enough. She said teacher shortage was a nationwide trend.
Asked whether she stayed away from Koraput “most of the time”, as Mohanty alleges, Banerjee said she had overseen the opening of many new buildings and departments.