Poor faculty in Himachal private universities: CAG

Shimla, April 8: Fifteen out of 17 private universities in Himachal Pradesh have faculty not possessing minimum qualifications, especially at the level of professor and associate professor, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). This fact came to light in the CAG performance audit to ascertain the standard of higher education and regulatory mechanism governing functioning of the universities. Moreover, there was a significant shortage of faculty particularly of professors (38 per cent) and associate professors (61 per cent). The CAG said that only three universities had obtained accreditation from the tiol Assessment and Accreditation Council till March last year.

Picking holes in the working of the regulatory commission, the CAG observed there was an acute shortage of manpower in the commission. A total of 1,394 courses in private universities during 2011-17 were approved by the commission without conducting inspections to ascertain availability of infrastructure and staff.

A total of 352 candidates had been enrolled for doctorate in only four out of the nine test-checked private universities. A maximum of 298 students are in Shoolini University. The CAG said 67 research projects were undertaken with government funding of Rs 17 crore in these four universities, of which 32 projects were completed, 34 incomplete and one project was abandoned. (IANS)