SAMBALPUR: Sambalpur University has discontinued M Phil courses in Hindi, Performing Arts and Social Work due to a shortage of teaching staff.
As per UGC regulations 2009, three MPhil students can be guided by a professor, two by a reader and one by an associate professor and a lecturer.
As the university does not have permanent teachers for the subjects, the courses were discontinued from this academic year.
Besides, the number of seats in other departments of the university has been revised as per UGC guidelines and the academic council has notified that departments without regular faculty can no longer offer MPhil courses.
Earlier, the courses were run with the help of contractual teachers but after the students raised their objection to it in a letter to the Governor and Higher Education department, an explanation was sought by UGC from the university in this regard.
Chairman of Post-Graduate Council of Sambalpur University Ashok Kumar Dash said there is little possibility of restarting the courses in future.
“As long as recruitment of permanent teachers is not completed, no new courses will be offered by the university,” he clarified.
This apart, in a meeting held between the Vice-Chancellor of the university and officials of the Higher Education department, issues pertaining to shortage of teaching staff were discussed.
The Higher Education department directed the university to conduct the recruitment as per the common format and guidelines approved by the Government.