Uncertainty Looms Over Teachers' Recruitment at BAMU

Mehboob Inamdar

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The prospects of recruiting teaching faculty at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University (BAMU) remain bleak, as repeated postponements and delays continue to dash the hopes of thousands of aspirants.

More than 150 posts — out of a total of 289 sanctioned positions, of Assistant Professors, Associate Professors and Professors across various university departments have remained vacant for the past 14 years, owing to retirements and other reasons.

The administration failed to fill these vacancies until 2019. When it finally initiated the recruitment process, the State-wide financial restrictions imposed amid the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 brought the effort to a halt. After the restrictions were lifted, the State Government permitted BAMU to fill 73 vacant posts in 2023, and applications were invited in September–October of that year.

However, the process was derailed yet again when certain office-bearers of university authorities and boards petitioned the Governor and Chancellor to stall the recruitment, citing the impending end of the then Vice-Chancellor's term in December 2023. To address the acute staff shortage in the interim, more than 107 Assistant Professors were appointed on a contractual basis in 2024.

In a fresh attempt to resolve the crisis, the administration resumed the permanent recruitment process in April 2025. The State Government introduced revised criteria incorporating Academic and Research Credentials (ARC) for recruitment during the same period. This move, however, met with widespread opposition across the State, prompting the Government to issue yet another revised ARC framework. BAMU subsequently re-invited applications in February 2026, with the deadline extended to March 20, 2026.

According to sources, the likelihood of the recruitment process being successfully concluded remains slim, given the State's prevailing political and financial climate. "The recruitment process has been delayed for the past two years. The administration is also likely to face considerable political pressure, which could result in the process being stalled once again," a source said.

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Recruitment to Be Completed, Says Registrar

Around 6,831 candidates applied online for the 73 advertised posts, while 80 applications were received for four Dean positions and one post of Director of the Knowledge Resource Centre (KRC). A total of 4,921 candidates submitted hard copies of their application forms, with the last date for submission being March 25.

Registrar Dr Prashant Amrutkar confirmed that the university received 4,921 applications for the posts of Professors, Associate Professors, Assistant Professors and Deans up to March 20. He assured that the recruitment of teaching faculty would be completed in accordance with the prescribed norms.

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What Is the New ARC?

The Higher and Technical Education Department of the State Government issued a revised ARC framework on February 11, 2026, to govern the selection process for teachers in public universities of Maharashtra. Under the new norms, the selection criteria have been fixed in a 60:20:20 ratio, with 60 per cent weightage assigned to the candidate's academic record, and 20 per cent each to teaching skills and the interview, respectively.