More than 30% of colleges affiliated to the University of Mumbai (MU) don’t have a full-time principal, according to information submitted by the varsity at the recent meeting of its top statutory body, the senate.
Of 878 colleges under MU, 270 are currently headed by temporary or ‘in-charge’ principals. Of these, around 170 haven’t had a regular principal for more than a year, says the university. The absence of full-time heads poses a major challenge for higher education institutes as they begin realigning their programmes according to the National Education Policy (NEP).
While the university didn’t provide any classification of the colleges without full-time heads, an official from the state government said that most of these institutes are likely unaided colleges. “We have cleared most of the proposals for principals’ appointment in aided colleges before the model code of conduct [for the Lok Sabha election] kicked in,” the official said.
While the grant-in-aid colleges are required to get a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the state, the unaided institutes only need to have the varsity’s approval.
The approval process for college principals, as well as teachers, has been inconsistent during the past few years. In an effort to bring financial stability to the state by curbing the expenditure on the government employees, the state in 2015 put a freeze on creating new posts and filling existing posts, including principals. Three years later, in 2018, the government lifted this ban, allowing filling all the vacant posts of principals and 40% vacancies for teachers.
However, in 2020, the state finance department once again stopped the recruitment process due to the financial constraints posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. A year later, it permitted filling of 260 posts of principals across the state.
“Since principal was a singular and key post for colleges seeking the National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC) recognition, it was decided to fill all the vacancies,” the government official said.
According to Eknath Sutar, a teacher at Mandangad College in Ratnagiri, who had raised the issue of principals’ vacancies in the senate, there are a variety of reasons for unfilled posts. “Sometimes the government keeps proposals for appointment pending for a long time. In other instances, the management doesn’t fill the posts due to vested interests. In some cases, the colleges don’t find appropriate candidates for the post,” he said.
Not having a regular principal in place takes a toll on the institute. “A person handling the additional responsibility of the principal can’t be held accountable like a regular principal,” Sutar said.
