As per UGC norms, to acquire full-time status, teachers have to clear eligibility tests like the National or the State eligibility tests or pass the LLM degree examination, while the BCI qualifies such lawyers who have over five years experience in the profession to teach.

There are nearly eight law colleges affiliated to the University of Pune of which five are in Pune while the remaining three are at Ahmednagar, Nashik and Malegaon. With one full-time principal at these colleges, there are only three-four teachers at each college who fulfill the UGC norms. The remaining teachers are employed on a part-time or on a contract basis.

Advocate Sudhakar Avhad, member, Maharashtra Bar Council and one of the three committee members said that they would examine the criteria apart from reviewing the law syllabus. We have also demanded a professional course status for the law degree course on par with other professional courses like medicine and engineering. The committee include members D D Shinde and Shrikant Kanitkar.

Madhav Gokhale PUWJ president
Madhav Gokhale, senior reporter with The Indian Express was on Sunday elected president of Pune Union Working Journalists (PUWJ). Shashikant Bhagwat of Sakal will be the new general secretary.

Among other office-bearers include vice-presidents Seema Deshpande (Loksatta) and Mukund Adkar (Sakal), secretaries Maruti Joshi (Prabhat) and Vitthal Jadhav (Saamna), treasurer Shriram Shinde (Maharashtra Herald), internal auditor Mahendra Phate (Sakal) and executive committee members Abdid Shaikh, Chandrashekhar Patwardhan, Nitin Bandal (all Sakal), Ashish Pendse, Dhananjay Jadhav (both Loksatta), Uday Harshe (Kesari), Sadanand Godse (Maharashtra Herald), Prasad Ghare (Lokmat) and Vijay Bhosale (Kesari co-opted member).

Former AIR official Chandrashekhar Karkhanis, AIR correspondent in Pune Sanjyot Amondikar and PIB official Rohini Pethe were the returning officer.Earlier, the PUWJ general body approved a welfare scheme for the working journalists. The meeting also felicitated outgoing president Uddhav Bhadsalkar, his team, Pune Patrakar Pratishtan president Gopalrao Patwardhan and Maharashtra Union of Working Journalists Association president Madhukar Prabhudesai.