1,404 Lecturer posts vacant in 17 Government Universities: Odisha Minister

Bhubaneswar, Sep 19 (UNI) As many as 1,404 out of 2,073 sanctioned lecturer posts across various departments are lying vacant in 17 government universities of Odisha, Higher Education Minister Suryavansi Suraj informed the state today.

In a written reply to a question from BJD MLA Arun Kumar Sahu, the Minister said 2,286 non-teaching staff posts out of 3,174 sanctioned posts are also lying vacant in these universities.

He said steps are being taken by the universities to fill up the lecturer posts, while the State Selection Board (SSB) has been requested to initiate recruitment for the vacant non-teaching positions.

The Minister further informed that 760 lecturer posts out of 2,407 sanctioned in various government colleges under the Higher Education Department remain vacant. Similarly, 1,026 out of 1,712 non-teaching posts in these colleges are unfilled.
The Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) has already issued a notification to fill 385 vacant lecturer posts, while the state government has requested the Commission to initiate recruitment for the remaining vacancies. The SSB has also been requested to fill up 101 vacant non-teaching posts, out of which 74 candidates have already been selected.

Suraj said that, in total, 2,030 lecturer posts and 5,024 non-teaching staff posts are lying vacant in aided colleges under the Higher Education Department. Aided colleges have 7,216 sanctioned lecturer posts and 6,388 sanctioned non-teaching posts.

The Minister informed the House that the Odisha High Court has cancelled the notification for the recruitment of 786 lecturers in aided colleges and directed the issuance of a fresh notification as per University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines.

He added that a writ petition has been filed against this directive, which is currently pending in the High Court.

A fresh notification for filling up the vacant lecturer posts will be issued after the Court delivers its verdict, he said.