UGC board.
Credit: IANS File Photo
Bengaluru: Officials in the Higher Education Department have suggested setting a three-year deadline for guest lecturers at government first-grade colleges to obtain qualifications prescribed by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
At a meeting between the officials of the Higher Education and Law departments, plans to extend the tenure of guest lecturers for the current academic year were also floated.
The High Court order mandating the government to appoint only those who meet the UGC’s eligibility criteria – lecturers must either have a PhD or have cleared NET/KSET – has plunged the future of thousands of guest lecturers in uncertainty, given that more than 5,500 of those working at government first-grade colleges do not have these qualifications.
An official from the Higher Education Department said that they were mulling extending the service of guest lecturers on humanitarian grounds. “Many of them have been working for years for a small honorarium, but do not have the qualifications prescribed by UGC. We are trying to find a solution that is in keeping with the High Court’s order. The CM will hold discussions on this issue, and a decision will be taken thereafter,” the official said.