Odisha Governor Orders Universities to Fill Teaching Posts Amid 70% Vacancy

Odisha Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati has directed State-run universities to begin recruitment for vacant teaching posts by the first week of November and complete the process by the end of that month.

The direction comes as 70% of teachers’ posts remain vacant in public universities across Odisha. Mr. Kambhampati, who is also Chancellor of the Universities, issued the instruction while speaking at a meeting on the ongoing recruitment of teaching faculty at the Lok Bhavan premises on October 3, 2026.

Governor sets recruitment timeline

Mr. Kambhampati described the filling of vacant teaching posts as the next major challenge after the appointment of Vice-Chancellors in State universities. Vice-Chancellors of 14 Universities were appointed on a single day after he assumed office as Governor, according to the source.

“filling vacant teaching posts was the next major challenge after the appointment of Vice-Chancellors in State universities,” Mr. Kambhampati said. He also stressed that merit should remain the priority in the appointment of teaching faculty and said quality and merit could not be compromised.

“Merit should be the priority in the appointment of teaching faculty. Quality and merit cannot be compromised,” Mr. Kambhampati said, stressing the need to recruit the best available faculty.

He further directed that all eligible applicants should be called for interviews instead of being subjected to extensive shortlisting and scrutiny at the initial stage. According to him, the process would ensure that no eligible candidate felt excluded and would give interview panels a wider pool of candidates to choose from.

1,441 posts vacant across 17 universities

The Mohan Charan Majhi Government recently informed the Odisha Legislative Assembly that 1,441 positions were vacant against 2,081 sanctioned posts in 17 public universities across the State. The vacancy figures provide the broader context for the Governor’s instruction to begin and complete the recruitment process within November.

To deal with the large-scale vacancies, 825 guest faculties have been engaged. The use of guest faculties has been reported alongside the continuing vacancies in sanctioned teaching positions across the universities.

Utkal University, one of the largest universities in Odisha, has 141 vacant posts out of 244 sanctioned posts for Professors, Associate Professors and Assistant Professors. This represents about 57.78% of the total sanctioned posts in those categories.

Ravenshaw University, described as the oldest of all universities, has 267 sanctioned posts, of which 167 were vacant.

Vacancies remain at several universities

Information tabled in the State Assembly showed that Madhusudan Law University, Odisha State Open University and Khalikote Unitary University were also yet to fill vacant posts permanently.

In Dharanidhar University, located in the home constituency of the Odisha Chief Minister, 106 of the 128 sanctioned posts were empty. The university was managing academic activities with the help of 68 guest faculties.

Mr. Kambhampati also sought details from universities pursuing accreditation. He suggested a common tenure for Vice-Chancellors across public universities, noting that some universities have a three-year tenure while others have four years.

“There are some universities where the vice-chancellor has a three-year tenure and some have four years. There should be a common tenure,” he said.

Source: The Hindu