Karnataka: Faculty crisis at government-run engineering colleges as 50 percent positions vacant
Bengaluru: Data reveals that half of the faculty positions are vacant in state government engineering colleges, highlighting a concerning situation that is impacting the quality of education and causing these institutions to lose out on valuable central funding.
According to the annual report submitted to the government by the Department of Technical Education, as cited by Deccan Herald on Monday, there are 646 sanctioned faculty positions across 16 government-run engineering colleges, of which 307 remain vacant.
The state higher education department's solution — allowing colleges to hire guest faculty — has compounded the problem in few ways. First, the absence of regular faculty members is hindering the colleges' ability to secure funds from central agencies. Second, this shortage is making it increasingly difficult for the colleges to obtain accreditation from the National Board of Accreditation (NBA).
The development comes against the background of the recent decision of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to reduce the intake of three government colleges by 25 percent, with faculty shortage being cited as one of the main reasons by the committee that inspected the colleges, the report mentioned. These colleges were also forbidden from getting any funds from the central schemes.
"There was no recruitment done after 2010. Even for positions that fell vacant because of retirement, death and voluntary retirement, even to fill those posts, we need to get approval of the Finance Department," an official source from the Higher Education Department told DH.
A principal of a government engineering college said guest faculties come with their issues. He stated that guest faculty members cannot be expected to show long-term commitment. If they receive better salary offers, they may leave mid-year, and they often lack a strong bond with students. For certain subjects, like Computer Science, it is even challenging to find qualified guest faculty.
Not only are teaching positions vacant, but non-teaching roles at government engineering colleges have also remained unfilled for the past 14 years. According to the data, out of 1,150 non-teaching posts, a staggering 1,023 are vacant.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
