UGC special job portal fails to enthuse Pune University

The University Grants Commission (UGC) two months ago started a special job portal on its website for those who have cleared the NET/SET and PhD holders.u00a0The idea is to benefit people who have these qualifications and dream of becoming a teacher as well as theu00a0universities that need them, but the University of Pune (UoP)u00a0is passive about popularising the unique effort by theu00a0UGC.

Apathetic: The main building of University of Pune. The University Grants Commission has asked all universities to appoint respective officer to look after the UGC portal, but the UoP has still not done the needful. File pic

Not a single advertisement has been put up by the UoP so far on the UGC portal.u00a0On the UoP website, there are 43 advertisements for filling vacant posts in various departments, but not a single advertisement has been placed on the UGC's web portal. u00a0UGC chairperson Ved Prakash has appealed through a letter to all universities in the country to spread awareness among aspiring candidates about the newly started web portal and has also asked the institutions to advertise vacancies on the portal.

The UGC chairperson's letter is dated September 28, 2012. The UGC has asked universities to appoint a separate officer of the university to look after the UGC portal, but the UoP has still not appointed the officer. u00a0The officer is expected to spread awareness among NET/SET candidates about the portal and at the same time make sure that all advertisements related to recruitment of teaching staff will get placed on the UGC portal, so that any eligible candidate across the country can easily apply for the post.

UoP students' welfare department director Dr Pandit Shelke, who looks after schemes related to students, admitted that so far no officer as suggested by the UGC had been appointed. "The Vice-Chancellor has received the letter from the UGC," Shelke said. "As I handle the charge of students' welfare department, making students aware about this newly started web portal is my responsibility. To place UoP's recruitment advertisements on the UGC portal is not my departments' concern."

Shelke said that the Board of College and University Department (BCUD) of the UoP has to take responsibility to represent the university on the UGC portal.
BCUD director Dr V B Gaikvad was not available for comment. On what special efforts his department had so far taken to spread awareness among students, Shelke said, "We have published a circular having detailed information about the UGC's newly started portal on the UoP's website. But I don't have information about exactly how many students have so far registered their names on the portal."

Sambhaji Patil, chairperson of Akhil Maharashtra SET/NET/BEd/DEd eligible union, said," "It's the responsibility of the university. Students are still unaware about this job portal. If the UoP placed its advertisements on the this portal, eligible candidates outside Pune can also easily apply for the vacancies in the UoP."

16,000 candidates, only 16 vacancies
The newly started UGC job portal has a total registration of 16,538 NET/SET and PhD holders. Of these, 8,072 are NET qualified, 2,712 are NET-JRF qualified, 1,655 are SET qualified and 4,299 are PhD holders. On the other hand, only 16 vacancies are placed as of now from universities across the country. These vacant posts range from lecturer to professor and principal to librarian, but there is not a single advertisement from any university in the state. As of now, the UoP alone has 43 vacancies shown on its website.u00a0