Hyderabad: Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy, on Sunday, January 26, has considered extending the retirement age of professors working in Telangana universities from 60 to 65, stirring a debate among the academia. While some support the chief minister, others have approached it with caution.
During the statue unveiling ceremony of Bharat Ratna Dr BR Ambedkar at BR Ambedkar Open University’s (BRAOU) campus, CM Revanth said extending the retirement age for senior professors was much needed in the public universities of Telangana.
He also agreed to extend the fee reimbursement scheme for the students of the university, as requested by the administration.
Experts take on extension of retirement age for professors
Experts say that age relaxation would be beneficial for education and research purposes as there are hardly any full-time professors left in the state universities presently. If the remaining ones retire in the coming days, months, or years, there will be nobody to guide the research scholars resulting in no PhDs from Telangana for the next 10 years or so.
“Experience matters. There is a need for experienced hands to mentor the younger generation of professors because you cannot suddenly change the way administration, academics, and research are done,” says professor Stevenson, who retired as the head of the Department of Communication and Journalism from Osmania University in September 2023.
He acknowledged that youngsters might be concerned about how long senior professors will continue to serve, as it could affect their job and promotion prospects in the short term. However, he emphasized the importance of understanding the dynamics of educational processes and carrying forward the positive legacy of senior professors.
Professor Stevenson also feels that sweeping changes are necessary for higher education. “Senior professors should upgrade and keep themselves abreast of the changes in academics, whether it is the technologies they employ, techniques of teaching, or pedagogy,” he said.
We need immediate recruitment, not extension of retirement age: PhD holders
Data suggests how the headcount of full-time teaching faculty in the state universities has taken a nosedive in the last decade and more.
Take for instance Osmania University, where the teaching faculty has reduced from over 1,000 to around 400 (approximately). This decline is a concern for many PhD holders who have been waiting for a job, many for over a decade.
Mandala Bhaskar is one such aspirant who completed his PhD from the Department of Telugu in 2011 at Osmania University and has been waiting for recruitment since then.
Pointing out that most of the teaching faculty (young professors/researchers) in Osmania are either guest faculty or bonded by contractual agreements, Bhaskar questions why the services of the retired professors cannot be used similarly.
“Professors should contribute to the universities even after their retirement. However, it also depends on their physical abilities. The services of retired professors could be used for taking special classes due to their vast experience in guiding research scholars over the years,” he opines, noting that unemployment could come down if recruitments are conducted with no further delay.
“Instead of the state government extending the retirement age of existing professors, it should focus on new recruitments,” Bhaskar said.
Tremendous pressure on existing professors
According to an assistant professor at Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University who does not want to be named, there are presently 98 faculty positions in the university, among whom only 8 are permanent and in six more months, 3 more faculty members will retire, leaving only 5 full-time faculty.
“A professor will have tremendous pressure to conduct research and produce meaningful academic work. And if that professor retires in a year or so, who will produce PhDs? Even if there are fresh recruitments, they need to submit quality research which normally takes 6-7 years. Hence, quality research will be impacted adversely and PhDs may not be produced,” the professor told Siasat.com.
Revanth Reddy demands withdrawal of draft UGC regulations
Need to approach with caution
Professor G Manoja, who retired from Palamuru University’s Department of English two years ago, opines the idea of extending the retirement age of existing professors should be approached with caution.
According to her, the state government should implement the retirement age to 65 years over 10 years, allowing universities to stabilize. She claims “there is a dearth of experience.”
Irrespective of the outcome, many feel there is a need for a healthy debate on the issue involving, various stakeholders.
