TN Govt Arts Colleges struggle with Professor shortage amid rapid expansion

chennai: a severe shortage of teaching faculty in government arts and science colleges across tamil nadu is raising concerns about the quality of higher education being imparted to economically disadvantaged students.the state currently boasts a gross enrolment ratio (ger) of 51.3 per cent in higher education — nearly double the national average — attributed largely to the expansion of government colleges. from 62 institutions in 2011, the number has grown to 175, with 113 new colleges added in the last 14 years.between 2021 and 2023 alone, 20 new colleges were established, followed by 11 more this academic year. additionally, 41 constituent colleges of universities were converted into government institutions, and 1,666 new courses were introduced over the last decade.however, the rapid expansion has not been matched with adequate faculty recruitment. while 3,500 assistant professors were appointed between 2006 and 2011 through the teachers recruitment board (trb), only 957 were recruited over the next decade. currently, fewer than 5,000 regular professors are serving across 175 colleges.incontrast, 7,360 guest lecturers, each drawing a monthly honorarium of rs 25,000 — a fraction of what permanent staff earn — are managing a significant portion of the teaching workload. new colleges opened this year have no permanent staff, with faculty from nearby institutions temporarily deployed to handle classes.a 2021 government order to regularise 1,146 guest lecturers was deferred due to the assembly elections. though the government later announced the recruitment of 4,000 assistant professors, legal hurdles have stalled appointments.higher education minister govi chezhiyan have assured that vacancies would be filled soon.meanwhile, classes under the "shift 2" evening programme — aimed at accommodating rising enrolment — continue without a single permanent faculty member.critical support roles also remain vacant. librarian posts are unfilled in 110 colleges, and over 80 institutions lack physical education instructors, affecting both academic and extracurricular development.in2023-24, mba courses were launched in five colleges without appointing even honorary faculty, further exacerbating concerns."how can we inspire confidence in our students when we ourselves remain in temporary positions after 20 years?" asked a group of guest lecturers. they pointed out that despite a court directive to regularise 1,146 lecturers within 12 weeks, the appointments remain pending."over the past 15 years, the number of colleges and students has doubled, but faculty strength has halved," said s. suresh, general secretary of the government college teachers' association. "this has significantly impacted the quality of education."students, especially those from government schools who benefit from state scholarship schemes, are left questioning the value of their education amid increasing infrastructure and staffing gaps.