The authorities of the Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit (SSUS) have cited the increasing headcount of guest faculty members as the reason for initiating the process of recruiting permanent Assistant Professors even as Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, who is also the Chancellor of the varsity, has directed them to put it on hold.
A section of the Syndicate members and the Save University Campaign Committee (SUCC) had opposed it stating that the recruitment based on a notification issued in 2021 was done in haste before the Assembly elections.
Vice Chancellor K.K. Geethakumary said that the filling up of vacant permanent posts was required as the varsity had a current strength of nearly 128 guest faculty members in various departments. She said that adequate number of teachers remained key, especially in view of the forthcoming evaluation of the varsity’s academic and other credentials by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council.
K. Unnikrishnan, Syndicate member, said that initiating the process based on a notification issued in 2021 would deny the opportunity to several others, who had earned the required qualifications over the past five years. The existing teacher-student ratio has also to be assessed, he said.
R.S. Sasikumar, chairman of the SUCC, said that there was a report by the government auditor stating that the current teacher headcount was above the teacher-student ratio prescribed as per norms. However, the university authorities said that they had not come across such a finding. “We have submitted our reply to the directive received from the Governor’s office on temporarily halting the recruitment of Assistant Professors,” they said.
Published – February 10, 2026 08:09 pm IST
