Plea to continue services of temporary faculty in public universities of Andhra Pradesh

Members of the Andhra Pradesh unit of Akhil Bharatiya Rashtriya Shaikshik Mahasangh (ABRSM) have requested the A.P. State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) to continue and retain the services of Academic Consultants, Ad-hoc and guest faculty currently working in the State Universities.

In a representation made to the Chairman of APSCHE K. Madhu Murthy, the Mahasangh’s State president Y.V. Rami Reddy and general secretary D.S.V.S. Balasubramanyam, they drew his attention that these temporary faculty members were appointed through duly constituted expert committees after fulfilling the required eligibility criteria. Many of them had been serving in their respective departments for several years, often with minimum remuneration, they said.

The Mahasangh leaders said moreover, due to shortage of regular teaching staff, several departments across the public universities were entirely dependent on the temporary faculty and discontinuing their services at this stage would severely disrupt the teaching-learning process and adversely affect the academic progress of students.

Citing G.O. Ms. No. 20, issued on August 20, 2016, they said the State government had already acknowledged the services of such temporary faculty and had ensured weightage for them in regular recruitment processes. Reiterating their demand to continue their services, they also urged the authorities to implement G.O. Ms. No. 110 to ensure uniform and reasonable remuneration for all temporary faculty members working in the State Universities and steps to expedite the recruitment process to fill approximately 5,000 vacant teaching positions in the State Universities.