The committee has also requested that a policy be developed for the transfer of teaching and non-teaching staff from government and aided colleges.
To address the huge number of vacancies in faculty positions, the Assembly Standing Committee on Education has recommended that the retirement age for college instructors in Odisha be raised to 62.
It should be noted that the present retirement age for academic members in Odisha’s higher educational institutions is 60. While the University Grants Commission (UGC) raised the retirement age for academic employees from 62 to 65 a few years ago, as many as 18 states have already accepted it, according to an article in The New Indian Express.
The committee recommended that, in light of the unfilled positions in degree institutions and higher secondary schools, the current retirement age limit for faculty members be raised to 62.
While 772 places are open in higher secondary schools, over 600 assistant professor and professor positions are open at degree colleges.
More suggestions
In addition, the committee requested that the department establish a regular cadre of principals for government and aided colleges. Senior professors currently serve as principals in 1,200 degree colleges, including 49 government institutions. As a result, they are unable to make critical decisions regarding infrastructure and other college development tasks.
When it comes to grants, the panel suggested that steps be taken to bring universities that already get 100 percent of their block grants into the grant-in-aid fold. Furthermore, it requested that the department revise the Odisha Education Act to allow for the withdrawal of grant-in-aid from individual employees whose performance has been or is adverse to the institutions’ interests.
Similarly, colleges and institutions that are not covered by the government’s block funding plan should be exempted from paying the tax. All institutions that are not covered by the block grant will have their electricity prices subsidised.
The committee has also requested that a policy be developed for the transfer of teaching and non-teaching staff from government and aided colleges.
Last month, the Assembly heard the Standing Committee on Higher Education’s report on the scrutiny of grant demand for the fiscal year 2022-23.
Following receipt of the committee’s recommendations, the Higher Education department requested on Friday, August 12, that the officials involved submit an action taken report to it by September 15.
Prasanta Patnaik