Agartala, September 26 : Amid a shortage of teachers in Tripura’s government degree colleges, 178 long-serving guest lecturers have sought a one-time, transparent and legally compliant recruitment process to consider them for assistant professor posts.
The lecturers submitted a representation to Chief Minister Manik Saha, with copies to the Higher Education Minister, Chief Secretary and Secretary of the Higher Education Department.
The applicants said most of the 178 lecturers had taught in government colleges for five to 15 years, handling teaching, examinations, evaluation, internal assessment, student counselling and other academic responsibilities.
Their engagement as guest lecturers ended on August 31, leaving both their future and the colleges’ staffing needs uncertain, they said.
According to the representation, government colleges currently have around 507 regular assistant professors and 732 guest lecturers. Of the latter, the 178 applicants claim to possess the educational qualifications prescribed by the UGC and five to 15 years of teaching experience.
The lecturers have not sought automatic regularisation on the basis of length of service. Instead, they have proposed a transparent selection process based on educational qualifications, teaching experience, subject-wise requirements, vacancies and applicable recruitment rules.
They have also proposed a high-level committee comprising officials of the Higher Education Department and Directorate, representatives of universities and subject experts to assess staffing requirements, vacancies and the applicants’ credentials.
The representation referred to earlier administrative measures taken by the State government, including a memorandum issued by the Higher Education Department on October 15, 2022, concerning the placement or absorption of eligible postgraduate teachers against vacant assistant professor posts.
The applicants, however, acknowledged that earlier measures may not have the same legal basis or applicability today. They therefore sought a fresh one-time mechanism in accordance with prevailing laws, UGC regulations, recruitment rules and court directions.
They said the proposed process would include verification of postgraduate qualifications, NET/SLET/SET, PhD wherever applicable, subject-specific eligibility, recognition of degrees and documentary evidence of teaching experience in government colleges.
The lecturers also cited the Supreme Court’s interim order of September 8, 2026, in WP(C) No. 1102/2026, arguing that any recruitment or regularisation exercise must strictly adhere to prescribed educational qualifications.
The representation said the demand was not for relaxation of eligibility norms but for consideration of qualified, experienced teachers through a transparent and legally sustainable process.
The lecturers also sought an interim arrangement for teaching in government colleges until a long-term decision is taken, citing the additional academic workload following the implementation of the four-year undergraduate programme.
