Amaravati, Mar 4 (TNT): Andhra Pradesh Education and IT Minister Nara Lokesh on Wednesday in the Council stated that 3,371 teaching posts are lying vacant in universities across the state and asserted that the coalition government would fill them on a war footing within three months.
Replying to a question raised by Legislative Council member Borra Gopimurty, Lokesh said the government would resolve cases pending before the High Court and take steps to fill the required vacancies within the stipulated timeframe.
Lokesh noted that notifications had earlier been issued in 2018 and 2023 for recruitment. However, the 2023 notification was set aside by the court for failure to adhere to vertical and horizontal reservation norms, leading to the suspension of the recruitment process.
He said the government has held three meetings with the Advocate General to deliberate on the issue and has decided to issue a fresh notification.
“The government has taken a decision to fill the pending posts within three months on a war footing,” he said.
The Minister further stated that certain appointments were made on political considerations during the previous government’s tenure, necessitating a comprehensive manpower audit to assess staffing requirements and role allocation in universities. Clarity would emerge after completion of the audit, he added.
On extending weightage to contract employees, Lokesh said the government is seeking legal opinion to avoid future complications, while expressing willingness to address their concerns.
Highlighting recent recruitment efforts, he said the government completed the DSC process within 150 days and filled 16,000 teacher posts after rectifying errors in earlier notifications through a committee mechanism.
He added that the government is also positively inclined towards addressing issues related to contract employees and that a Group of Ministers (GoM) has already been constituted to examine age-related matters.
Stating that resolving public issues is the government’s priority, the Minister said several reforms have been introduced in higher education and that commissionerates would be strengthened through forthcoming legislation. He said he is personally reviewing all issues and reiterated that the recruitment process would be taken up seriously and completed within three months after resolving legal hurdles.
TNT KM
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