Lok Sabha Question No. 3742 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-16
Subject: Vacant Teaching and Non-Teaching Posts in Central Universities
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Ms Iqra Choudhary, Adv Priya Saroj, Shri Benny Behanan, Shri Pushpendra Saroj

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3742 ANSWERED ON 16.03.2026

## Vacant Teaching and Non-Teaching Posts in Central Universities

## 3742.   Ms Iqra Choudhary:

Adv Priya Saroj:

Shri Benny Behanan:

Shri Pushpendra Saroj:

## Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  number  of  sanctioned,  filled  and  vacant  teaching  and  non-teaching  posts  in  Central Universities including IITs, IIMs and NITs across the country, university-wise, social categorywise and State-wise, particularly in Uttar Pradesh;
- (b) whether delays have occurred in filling these vacancies despite administrative approvals and budgetary provisions, if so, the reasons recorded therefor;
- (c) whether the Government admits that faculty shortages are affecting academic standards and research output, if so, the details thereof along with the reasons for delay in appointments despite repeated assurances;

(d) the number of recruitment proposals pending with the University Grants Commission or the Government for concurrence or clearance, State-wise and particularly for Uttar Pradesh; and (e) whether the Government has assessed the impact of persistent vacancies on teaching workload, research output, student support and accreditation outcomes including NAAC grading and if so, the details of findings thereof?

## 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,  IITs,  IIMs  and  NITs  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 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.

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 (CUs), IITs, IIMs and NITs have undertaken Mission Mode recruitment drive to fill the vacancies. Up to 24.01.2026 (i.e. the date of last Rozgar Mela), a total number of 30720 posts have been filled up by all CHEIs, including 17878 faculty positions, in Mission Mode. Out of these 30720 posts, during the said period, CUs, IITs, IIMs and NITs collectively have filled up 28666 posts including 16931 faculty positions.

In Centrally financed Higher Education Institutions, measures have been taken to attract quality faculties  which  includes  year-round  open  advertisements,  recruitment  through  search-cumselection  procedures,  special  recruitment  drive,  mission  mode  recruitment  and  invitation  to alumni/scientists/faculty, etc. The faculty recruitment processes are carried out by the CHEIs by inviting applications in a transparent manner, as part of a multi-step and robust screening process. The Acts and Statutes of various institutions specify the composition of selection committees, authorities  responsible  for  recruitment  of  various  levels  of  faculty,  provision  of  independent subject experts and Visitor's nominees etc. so as to ensure transparency and academic rigour in recruitments.  University  Grants  Commission  (UGC)  has  launched  a  common  portal  'CUCHAYAN' for faculty recruitment, making provision for listing of vacancies/ advertisements/ jobs across all Central Universities, thus making the entire recruitment process more transparent and accessible. As informed by UGC, no recruitment proposal is pending at their level.

To  enhance  the  quality  of  higher  education,  the  Government  of  India  has  undertaken  several measures,  including  the  provision  of  quality  infrastructure,  strengthening  of  the  research  and innovation  ecosystem,  promotion  of  industry-academia  linkages  etc.  As  the  result  of  these concerted efforts, India has witnessed a massive jump in its Global Innovation Index (GII) ranking from 66th position in 2013 to 40th in 2023. India is at 6th position (in 2022) in number of patent applications from 8th position (in 2012) as per WIPO's World Intellectual Property Indicators. India also occupies 3rd rank in terms of number of Ph.Ds awarded in Science and Engineering (S&E) as per 'Research and Development statistics at a glance 2022-23' published by Department of Science & Technology, Ministry of Science & Technology.

54 Indian Institutions have been ranked in the QS World University Ranking (QS WUR) 2026. This is India's highest ever representation, marking a growth from 11 institutions in QS WUR 2015 to 54 in QS WUR 2026. Eight Indian institutions have been ranked for the first time, which is  the  highest  number  for  any  country  in  this  edition,  both  within  the  G20  and  globally,  thus underscoring sustained policy initiatives, strengthened research and innovation capacity, and the steadily rising global profile of India's higher education system.

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