Bengaluru: Questioning universities over repeated claims of staff shortages, chief minister Siddaramaiah Friday asked their vice-chancellors whether guest lecturers could not be considered part of the academic workforce.“When universities are asked to rectify issues, they often cite lack of staff. Are your guest lecturers not staff? How many permanent faculty members are there in the world’s best universities? Visiting professors enhance the academic environment there. Why is this not possible here?” the CM said during an interaction with vice-chancellors at the Karnataka State Higher Education Council.He acknowledged that irregular recruitment over the past two decades led to a severe shortage of teachers in the higher education sector. The govt was aware that 60-70% of teaching positions were vacant in major state universities, he said. Clarifying that the govt was not blocking recruitment, Siddaramaiah pointed out that last year’s budget permitted the filling of 2,000 posts in colleges. “This year, we will allow recruitment in universities as well,” he added.However, the CM stressed the need for rationalisation in the era of AI. “With AI emerging worldwide, there is a necessity to fill only the required courses. Who benefits from running courses that are not essential to society and filling them with teachers?” he said, suggesting that universities must align academic programmes with contemporary needs.Recalling the past glory of state universities, he noted that institutions in Mysuru, Dharwad, Bengaluru, and Kalaburagi once produced distinguished scholars despite limited resources. “These universities were renowned on the global map of scholarship. We studied in such systems. But why is it not possible to build excellent universities now?” he said.The VCs’ conclave discussed 18 key issues related to the administration and academic systems of universities, including financial discipline, retirement pension issues, uniformity in convocations, shortages of teaching and non-teaching staff, and the use of CSR funds.The CM said that while the State Education Policy committee’s interim recommendations from the 2024–25 academic year were implemented, instructions were given that the remaining recommendations should be implemented immediately.CM also noted that the universities were becoming caste enclaves. “They must transcend caste and religion, and cultivate scientific and rational thinking. However, universities are becoming caste enclaves. They must work to liberate the youth from this. Plans must be prepared for what needs to be done for this,” he remarked.He also asked the universities to ensure the curriculum aligned with global standards.Karnataka has 94 universities, including 32 public ones, with a total of 2.7 million students.Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot drew the CM’s attention to the need for increased financial support for the state’s universities in this year’s budget, particularly emphasising the necessity for more aid to music, folk, Sanskrit, and Kannada universities.——Box:Govt’s promises-Karnataka higher education transformation plan of Rs 2,500 crore with support of the Asian Development Bank-Transforming Mysuru into a ‘global education and innovation hub’ and a ‘national knowledge district’ by 2030-Edutech and life sciences research park to be constructed on 100 acres, attracting an investment of around Rs 15,000 crore and creating over 50,000 skilled jobs-Plan to adopt around 100 engineering colleges in collaboration with industries is underway-Karnataka State Skill Development Policy 2025–32—-QuoteRecently, Galgotias University in Uttar Pradesh claimed to have prepared an AI robot dog which had been made by China, bringing India’s reputation down at a global level. This tarnished the dignity of India’s higher education institutions. In recent years, instead of fostering scientific and rational thinking in universities, we are conducting research on speculative past events-Siddaramaiah, chief minister————
