Chennai: Teaching fellows from Anna University‘s constituent colleges on Sunday protested in Chennai against the lay-off. Following the recruitment of 190 permanent faculty members, Anna University decided not to extend the contracts of 328 teaching fellows who were working in 13 constituent colleges and three regional campuses for several years.
“There are more than 20,000 students in these 16 institutions. Based on the 20:1 students-teacher ratio, they need 1,112 faculty members, but there are only 667 permanent faculty members even after the recruitment,” said Venkataraman, a teaching fellows who worked for more than 10 years. “The university can employ 300-odd teaching fellows in the constituent colleges. So it should give us an extension and allow us to work in the constituent colleges,” he said.
Teaching fellows received a monthly salary of 27,000. Following their removal, classes, including practical classes and vocational classes, were not conducted properly, they alleged.
