Mumbai: With the recruitment process for 5,012 Assistant Professor posts set to begin across non-government aided colleges in Maharashtra, the Maharashtra State Faculty Development Academy (MSFDA), Pune, on Sunday organised a special one-day training programme focused on the implementation of social and horizontal reservation policies.
The initiative was launched following directions from Maharashtra Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Dada Patil to ensure that the recruitment process is carried out in line with reservation norms and government regulations.
The training programme was aimed at university officials involved in reservation-related recruitment procedures. It comes at a time when colleges and universities across the state are preparing to fill long-pending vacancies in the Assistant Professor cadre.
Recruitment linked to NEP 2020 Implementation
The state government recently approved recruitment for 5,012 vacant Assistant Professor posts in recognised non-government aided colleges affiliated with State Public Universities and functioning under the Directorate of Higher Education.
The move gains significance in the backdrop of the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. While autonomous colleges began implementing the policy from the academic year 2023-24, undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in other affiliated colleges adopted it from 2024-25 onwards. Officials said the recruitment drive is necessary to strengthen academic infrastructure and meet teaching requirements under the new policy framework.
As part of the recruitment process, institutions will first have to get the roster of vacant posts verified by their respective affiliating State Public Universities. The final verification of reservation categories and roster approval will then be completed through the Reservation Cell.
Experts stress proper reservation implementation
The programme was inaugurated by Suresh Gosavi, Vice Chancellor of Savitribai Phule Pune University, who also presided over the session.
Delivering the introductory remarks, Shailendra Deolankar, Executive Director of MSFDA and Director of Higher Education, Maharashtra, said the training was organised under the guidance of Minister Chandrakant Dada Patil. He stressed that an efficient university administration system would play a key role in successfully implementing NEP 2020.
Dr. Deolankar also underlined the importance of properly implementing reservation policies in higher education recruitment to ensure equal representation and justice for all sections of society.
Guidance on Roster Verification and Horizontal Reservation
Several officials and experts participated as resource persons during the programme, including Dr. Prakash Bachhav, Divisional Joint Director of the Kolhapur Division; Sandeep Patil from the Reservation Cell of the Nashik Divisional Revenue Office; Iqbal Darwajkar from the Pune Divisional Revenue Office; Dr. Dilip Bharad, former Registrar of Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University; Dr. Archana Borhade, Joint Director at the Directorate of Higher Education, Pune; and Dr. Suyash Dusane, Administrative Officer at the Directorate of Higher Education.
During the sessions, experts provided detailed guidance on roster verification, implementation of social reservation norms, and horizontal reservation provisions for women and persons with disabilities. Queries raised by Deputy Registrars and Assistant Registrars attending the programme were also addressed.
Concluding the session, Dr. Deolankar said the training would help universities and colleges ensure smoother implementation of reservation policies while carrying out the large-scale Assistant Professor recruitment process under the framework of NEP 2020.
