The Pune University Teachers’ Association (PUTA) has taken up the issue with the university, demanding immediate recruitment. The university had sent a letter on May 9, 2008, asking all colleges to fill the post. But, so far the response has been poor. “PUTA has appealed to the university to take action against those colleges which have not filled the posts,” said Deepak Shendkar, secretary of PUTA.

He said the local inspection committees that go to the colleges for inspection don’t have members from the physical education department and hence they fail in effectively assessing the sports infrastructure.

Raghav Ashtekar, general secretary of PUTA, said the sports director’s post in the university itself has been vacant for 10 years. “The last director left the job in 1998 and after that the university has not made any efforts to fill the vacant post,” he said.

Ashtekar said the colleges also lack basic sports facilities. “The students of many colleges don’t even have access to grounds and they lack basic sports equipment.”

Shendkar said the sports ground of the university is also in a shambles, as it is mostly used as a helipad. “Only some sports camps are arranged at the ground. The ground needs frequent repairs as these helicopter landings spoil it,” he said.

A senior university official confirmed that most colleges don’t have full-time physical education directors. However, he denied the allegation that the university ground was in a bad condition. “We have maintained the ground properly and many competitions are held round the year on the ground,” he said.