Jammu, Mar 25: Around a dozen universities in Jammu and Kashmir are facing a severe shortage of faculty, with nearly 40 per cent of teaching posts lying vacant, according to official data.
Figures from the Higher Education Department show that over 3,300 teaching posts are sanctioned across nine public and two central universities, while only around 1,900 are filled, leaving a significant gap and forcing several institutions to function below their approved strength.
The University of Jammu has 252 teachers against 442 sanctioned posts, reflecting around 43 per cent vacancies, while the University of Kashmir has 373 teachers against 570 posts, indicating a shortage of about 35 per cent.
Among agricultural universities, SKUAST-Jammu has 237 teachers against 411 sanctioned posts, leaving nearly 42 per cent positions vacant, while SKUAST-Kashmir has 424 teachers against 540 posts, with around 21 per cent vacancies.
Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Rajouri, has only 93 teachers against 241 sanctioned posts, with over 60 per cent vacancies, while the Islamic University of Science and Technology has 135 teachers against 385 posts, leaving nearly two-thirds of positions unfilled.
Among central institutions, the Central University of Kashmir has 108 teachers against 195 sanctioned posts, while the Central University of Jammu has 160 teachers against 177 posts. Cluster University Jammu and Srinagar have 13 and 18 teachers against 16 and 56 sanctioned posts, respectively.
Overall, most universities in the region are operating with faculty shortages ranging from around 20 per cent to over 60 per cent, raising concerns about academic workload and the functioning of departments.
Student enrolment across these universities exceeds 69,000, with the majority being local students, while 3,465 are non-locals, including 12 foreign nationals.
Cluster University Jammu and Cluster University Srinagar have the highest enrolment with 16,711 and 16,179 students respectively, followed by the University of Kashmir with 12,002 students and the University of Jammu with 3,946.
Central University of Jammu has 3,372 students, while Central University of Kashmir has 2,592 students. Other institutions, including SKUAST-Jammu, SKUAST-Kashmir, Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Islamic University of Science and Technology and Mata Vaishno Devi University, have 1,997, 4,959, 2,401, 4,827 and 796 students, respectively.
The data also indicates a strong local presence among teaching staff in most universities. The University of Kashmir has 356 local teachers out of 373, while the University of Jammu has 198 locals among its 252 faculty members. SKUAST-Kashmir has 378 local teachers out of 424, and SKUAST-Jammu has 146 locals out of 237 teachers.
In contrast, central universities have a higher proportion of non-local faculty. The Central University of Jammu has 112 non-local teachers out of 160, while the Central University of Kashmir has 45 non-local faculty members out of 108. (Agency)
