Industry Odisha Bureau, Oct 03: Odisha Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati on Saturday asked vice-chancellors of state public universities to initiate the recruitment process for vacant teaching posts by the first week of November and complete it by the end of the month.
He was speaking at a meeting on the ongoing recruitment of teaching faculty in state public universities at the Lok Bhavan premises here.
Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj, Secretary Aravind Agrawal, vice-chancellors and registrars of state public universities, senior department officials and senior officials from Lok Bhavan attended the meeting.
Kambhampati, who is the Chancellor of the government-run universities, said filling vacant teaching posts was the next major challenge after appointing vice-chancellors in state universities.
Recalling that vice-chancellors (VCs) of 14 universities were appointed on a single day after he assumed office as Governor, he said clear timelines should now be set for completing the faculty recruitment process.
“Merit should be the priority in the appointment of teaching faculty. Quality and merit cannot be compromised,” the Governor said, stressing the need to recruit the best available faculty.
He also suggested that all eligible applicants be called for interviews instead of extensive shortlisting and scrutiny at the initial stage. Such a process, he said, would ensure that no eligible candidate felt excluded while giving interview panels a wider pool of candidates to choose from.
Kambhampati also urged universities to pursue green certification, citing the platinum certification received by Odisha Lok Bhavan from the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC).
The universities already have substantial green cover and could secure certification with some additional efforts, he added.
The Governor sought details from universities pursuing accreditation and suggested a common tenure for VCs across state public universities.
“There are some universities where the vice-chancellor has a three-year tenure and some have four years. There should be a common tenure,” he suggested.
He further advised the universities to adopt solar power on their campuses, either through their own initiatives or under the Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) model.
The Higher Education Minister endorsed the Governor’s suggestions and asked vice-chancellors to set timelines for completing the recruitment process.
Department Secretary Aravind Agrawal made a presentation on the status of teaching faculty recruitment in state public universities during the meeting.
