Recruitment of professors to resume in Maha under new, 60:40 formula

Under the newly approved system, 60 marks will be allotted for the candidates’ academic credentials, including educational qualifications, PhD, research publications, and experience

After years of delay, the long-pending recruitment of professors in Maharashtra’s universities and senior colleges is finally set to move forward. The state government has decided to employ professors based on a new 60:40 merit-based evaluation formula, clearing a major administrative and legal hurdle that had stalled the process.

The remaining 40 marks will assess their teaching ability: split equally between 20 marks for the personal interview, and 20 marks for a live teaching demonstration carried out during the interview process. (FILE)

Making the announcement in the legislative council on Saturday, higher and technical education minister Chandrakant Patil said that although around 12,000 professor posts are currently lying vacant across the state, the finance department has granted approval to fill 5,012 posts in the first phase with recruitment for the remaining posts to be taken up subsequently.

Under the newly approved system, 60 marks will be allotted for the candidates’ academic credentials, including educational qualifications, PhD, research publications, and experience. The remaining 40 marks will assess their teaching ability: split equally between 20 marks for the personal interview, and 20 marks for a live teaching demonstration carried out during the interview process. This new formula replaces the earlier 80:20 system which had been approved by a former governor and had become a bone of contention, contributing to prolonged delays.

Patil informed the House that the new governor and chancellor of universities has approved the 60:40 formula, effectively resolving the deadlock that had affected professor recruitment in non-agricultural universities and senior colleges across Maharashtra.

Patil said that multiple formulae such as 80:20 and 50:50 were discussed earlier, but a final consensus has now been reached in line with merit-based evaluation and academic quality.

Patil assured the House that the recruitment process will be examined in detail to ensure compliance with UGC norms, as well as legal and constitutional requirements.

With approvals now in place from the finance department, the governor, and the state government, the decision is expected to pave the way for one of the largest professor recruitment drives in Maharashtra in recent years, bringing long-awaited relief to universities, colleges, and thousands of aspiring academics.