The Joint Director of the Department of Collegiate Education (DCE) in the Mangaluru division has issued notices to seven aided colleges in the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi. The colleges are accused of not disclosing the UGC or permanent staff teaching hours while still drawing salaries for the same. The notice alleges that these colleges’ staff received salaries without conducting the required classes as mandated by the UGC for the academic year 2023–24.
According to the notice, these aided colleges lack workload, and the principals failed to inform the department about it, allowing permanent staff to draw salaries. This, in turn, puts a burden on the government exchequer. The issue came to light after department officials intervened and received details from the aided colleges. The colleges are now required to provide a written clarification by March 11.
The seven colleges, located in Karkala, Udupi, Kundapur, Sullia, Puttur, and two in Mangaluru city, have allegedly violated UGC rules. As per UGC regulations, a college can retain permanent staff if it has a workload of 16 hours for non-science subjects and 20 hours for science subjects with practical classes per week. The approved principal workload hours are six hours a week. The DCE officials claim that these aided colleges showed no workload for the subjects while indicating that all UGC staff were occupied throughout all semesters.
In response to these violations, the DCE, Mangaluru division, has reassigned some excess permanent staff from these aided colleges to government first-grade colleges. Senior lecturers have raised concerns about the sudden crackdown, questioning why the DCE remained silent for so many years, especially considering the reduction in workload for many permanent faculty members following the introduction of the National Education Policy 2020. They are calling for a thorough investigation into the matter.
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