Parliament Question: Vacant Post of Associate Professors in Education Institutions

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 414 ANSWERED ON 02.02.2026 Vacant Post of Associate Professors in Education Institutions †414. Dr. Faggan Singh Kulaste: Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state: (a) whether it is a fact that the post of Associate Professors in Central Universities/State Universities/Higher Education Institutions receiving grant-in-aid are lying vacant at present in various categories (General, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Economically Weaker Sections) in the country; (b) if so, the details thereof along with the total number of posts lying vacant, category-wise and institution-wise; (c) the steps taken so far by the Government to fill these vacant positions; (d) whether any specific timeline has been set for filling-up these posts; and (e) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR) (a) to (e) The Central Higher Education Institutions (CHEIs) under Ministry of Education including Central Universities are statutory autonomous organizations established under respective Central Acts of Parliament and governed by provisions of the Acts/Statutes/Ordinances/Regulations made thereunder. As autonomous institutions, faculty recruitment (including Associate Professors) is done within the institutions itself, in accordance with their Acts and Regulations. The recruitment powers vests with the respective Board of Governors/Executive Committee/Board of Management and no active role of the Ministry is involved therein.Occurring of vacancies and filling thereof is a continuous process. The vacancies arise due to promotion, retirement, resignation, death, opening of new institutions, schemes or projects, and additional requirements on account of enhanced students’ strength and expansion of capacity in existing institutions. State Universities are established through respective State Acts and vacances therein are filled by concerned State Governments/Universities themselves. Vacancy details of State Universities are not maintained centrally. The Government notified the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers Cadre) Act, 2019 on 09.07.2019 to provide for the reservation of posts in appointments of persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, the socially and educationally backward classes and the economically weaker sections, to teachers’ cadre in these CHEIs. The reservation is provided in teachers cadre to the extent of 15% for SCs, 7.5% for STs, 27% for socially and educationally backward classes and 10% for Economically weaker sections, as per notification dated 12.7.2019 issued in pursuance of the said Act. In August, 2021, all CHEIs under Ministry of Education were requested to undertake special drive to fill backlog vacancies in their institutions in Mission Mode. The CHEIs undertook special recruitment drives to fill the vacancies including of Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs). In September 2022, Ministry of Education had also exhorted all the CHEIs to fill up the vacancies in Mission Mode. In October 2025, all the CHEIs have again been requested to fill up all the backlog vacancies in Mission Mode within a period of one year. From September 2022, all CHEIs including Central Universities have undertaken Mission Mode recruitment drive to fill the vacancies. Up to 24.10.2025 (i.e. the date of 17th tranche of Rozgar Mela), a total number of 29979 posts have been filled up by all CHEIs, including 17494 faculty positions, in Mission Mode. Out of these 29979 posts, during the said period, the Central Universities alone have filled up 12604 posts including 8327 faculty positions. *****