Patna: Bihar State University Service Commission (BSUSC) is likely to launch a centralised recruitment process for more than 2,500 assistant professors in six subjects on contractual basis on a higher pay for the 211 newly-started degree colleges at different blocks in the state.Sources said in all probability the task of centralised recruitment of assistant professors in different subjects would be handed over to the BSUSC soon so that regular academic activities in all these degree colleges are started properly. A decision to make centralised recruitment of contractual appointments was taken at a high-level meeting at Lok Bhavan here last week.The subjects which have been introduced in the new colleges from the current academic session (2026-27) include Hindi, English, history, political science, economics and sociology. Teaching of other subjects of humanities and science faculties in these colleges would be introduced subsequently.The BSUSC is also supposed to appoint more than 6,000 assistant professors in different subjects on regular basis against vacant sanctioned posts in different universities across the state. However, it has not received the roster-wise vacancies in different subjects in different universities from the state higher education department so far.Sources said the education department would send the vacancies to the BSUSC only when the revised statute concerning appointment of assistant professors is assented to be the chancellor.The draft statute envisages among other things a written test along with interview for the recruitment of assistant professors. Some new provisions made in the draft statute have raised controversies in the academic circles.Bihar Public Service Commission’s former member and Patna University’s retired professor Shiv Jatan Thakur on Tuesday criticised the provision of age limit of 40 years for fresh recruitment of assistant professors. He said this provision is blatant violation of the UGC regulations as well as the state govt’s circular dated March 6, 2019 stating that the appointment of assistant professors shall invariably be made in accordance with the UGC regulations which do not prescribe any age limit.The Supreme Court has also ruled that UGC regulations made in pursuance of the concurrent list is mandatory for the appointment of teachers in the universities of the country.Thakur urged the chancellor and the state govt to waive this arbitrary age limit for the appointment of assistant professors in the general interest of educated youths of the state.BSUSC chairman G K Chaudhary told TOI that the provision of age limit of 40 years has been provided in the draft on the recommendations of the committee members on the ground that similar statutes followed in the universities of several other states prescribe age limit for appointment of assistant professors in spite of the UGC regulations.
