There are 13 posts of Readers and four of Professors in the institute. However, at present there are only seven Readers and one professor who is also the Director of the institute.

The institute started functioning in 2006 and at present two batches are studying here. Even in this span of time, suitable people could not be found though the posts were advertised repeatedly. The specifications of Medical Council of India need to be followed when it comes to the number of faculty members present. By next session, as more students would be admitted, six professors need to be there. Since approval is sought from the MCI every year, lack of teachers creates hurdles.

UIET

The institute needs four Professors and seven Readers, the posts for which have been advertised. In fact the advertisements are issued every six months. Letters have also been sent to IITs (Indian Institute of Technology) for recommending faculty. A positive response is awaited.

Other departments

The posts of Controller of Examination was vacated in April last year after the retirement of Sodhi Ram. The varsity also does not have Finance and Development Officer and Director Sports. Interviews have been conducted many times for all these posts. However, no suitable candidate has yet been found.

The coveted chairs in the departments are also lying vacant. With most of the chairs being in the faculty of languages, the research in specific areas tends to get hampered.

Problems & way out

Though there are sufficient numbers of lecturers in the two professional institutes, the problem is arising for the senior posts. There has been a spurt of private institutions in the region. These are attracting a lot of experienced people primarily due to the salaries that these have to offer.

The qualification required for candidates to be appointed as Readers in UIET is first class in ME as well as BE along with PhD. These conditions are more stringent than those laid down by AICTE (All India Council of Technical Education).

Director of UIET Dr B S Sohi says, “The conditions are such to maintain quality of the teachers appointed. We want the best faculty for the students so a stringent criterion is followed. An advantage of this has been that most of the lecturers are pursuing PhD. Within the next three years we would have a large number of faculty members who would be eligible for promotions. This is also raising the level of interest in research.”

While the university cannot pay salaries at par with the private institutes, it cannot attract talented professionals from the field. Another factor is that the interest of students wanting to pursue teaching as a profession is declining. Especially in case of professional courses, where the students are being offered handsome salaries by multinationals, teaching is not one of their first preferences.

A committee headed by Prof K K Talwar, Director, PGI, had been constituted by the university authorities to study the situation. The committee had made certain recommendations to tackle the situation.

Director of Dental Institute Dr K Gauba says, “The salaries cannot be increased after a certain extent. To attract senior doctors perks can be introduced. Research pursuance allowance or academic allowance can be given to the doctors. They could be given accommodation by the varsity on priority basis. This might help in filling up posts.”

The issue was also debated during the PU Senate held in December last year. Concern was expressed by the Fellows that steps need to be taken to tackle the situation. They felt that certain relaxations were being offered by the private institutes.

PU Fellow Dr Dharinder Tayal says, “There is no easy or direct solution to this problem. The universities need to be given flexibility by the governments for survival and proper growth. The demand for senior faculty members is more. In a government set-up, the salaries cannot be out of grade.

“Also, the quality of education in the university has to be maintained. A well thought-out solution is needed.”