NEW DELHI: The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has proposed an increase in the retirement age of teachers in Central universities from 62 to 65 to address shortage of qualified hands.

Under consideration for some time now, the proposal has gained currency in the wake of the government's decision to increase seats in institutions of higher education for reserving seats to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

The Ministry has suggested, besides increasing the superannuation age, that retired teachers under 70 be considered for re-employment. A Cabinet note to this effect has been circulated to other Ministries for their comments. The HRD Ministry is hopeful of a positive response since the options before the government are limited, faced with the task of increasing student intake by 54 per cent within a year without diluting the quality of education.

In the normal course, the proposal would have been shot down by the Finance Ministry as increasing retirement age amounts to retaining people at higher scales of pay rather than taking in fresh recruits. While the proposal is now being linked to the move to reserve 27 per cent seats to the OBCs, a decision taken by the government in consultation with the Left parties on May 23, the Secretary to the Department of Secondary and Higher Education on April 16 asked the Chief Secretaries of all States to consider re-employing teachers till the age of 65 to address shortage.

Contract teachers

Concerned at good universities and colleges "sliding back into mediocrity and worse" in the absence of regular teachers, the Ministry suggested that experienced hands be reemployed, as an alternative to the prevailing practice of appointing teachers on a contract and ad hoc basis. Earlier on March 22, the University Grants Commission (UGC) wrote to the Secretaries of all the States and the Union Territories and the Registrars of all universities asking them to re-employ superannuated teachers. This suggestion has been pending.

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