Poor facilities, few growth opportunities, interference from the state government and low retirement age at the Rajasthan University have been the major factors for 17 professors, who left the university in the past 18 months, to join central varsities.
Central University in Kishangarh is fast growing a favourite among teachers looking for better research facilities and a hefty pay packet.
In the past one year, two senior professors from RU have joined the Central University.
Another eight teachers have appeared for interviews for posts with various departments, the CU administration confirmed.
A perennial shortage of staff, financial crunch and a poor academic health are forcing many teachers to look out for better opportunities. By the start of the new session, few more teachers are likely to quit their jobs at RU.
“For every project or research work we are at the mercy of the either the vice-chancellor or the state. Sometimes, it becomes frustrating for a department to get funds cleared by the university that are granted by central departments or the state government. It takes months to get approvals for proposals,” said a professor who recently appeared for an interview at CU.
Professor, Yashwir Singh and Arvind Agarwal, switched over to Central University in Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh respectively. Vijay Veer Singh, head of department, economics has joined Tata Institute of Social Sciences while Ramesh Dhadich of the political science department opted for a post at the Indian Council for Social Science Research.
The current trend also doesn’t bode well for students who may miss out on quality teaching at RU.
The central universities offer a wide array of benefits over state-run universities. The biggest being the age of retirement which is 65 against 60 for state universities like RU.
The faculty gets a lot of chances to attend international seminars and workshops in the country and abroad besides other financial perks.
Rajeev Gupta, head of department, sociology at RU calls it ‘academic mobility of upward nature’. He said, “The direct interference of bureaucrats and government has put the autonomy of university in danger. Meagre grants for developing facilities are affecting the academic environment.”
Similar views were echoed by other department heads. “From developing facilities to holding a seminar, calling a guest faculty or claiming the expenses for serving tea and snacks to guests, is an uphill task for department heads,” another RU teacher said.
src: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Teachers-opt-out-of-Rajasthan-University-to-join-central-varsities/articleshow/19485986.cms