September 17, 2025
Delhi, India
Indian universities, both public and private, are increasingly relying on contractual faculty to fill teaching positions, bypassing University Grants Commission (UGC) pay guidelines to offer low wages and precarious job conditions. Despite clear UGC mandates for fair salaries and job security, thousands of Assistant Professors face exploitation, eroding the quality of higher education and deterring young scholars from academic careers.
Key Points:
- Widespread Contractual Hiring: Institutions hire faculty on short-term contracts, ignoring UGC’s prescribed salary structures.
- Job Insecurity: Contractual faculty face constant uncertainty with 11-month contracts and frequent renewal interviews.
- Impact on Academia: Exploitation discourages talented scholars, threatening the future of Indian higher education.
The story of Aniket Kundu, a former contractual faculty member at Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), Mumbai, highlights this crisis. Promised ₹65,000 monthly and a three-year contract, he faced frozen salaries, no benefits, and deliberate service breaks to prevent permanency. “It was a paper trail of exploitation,” he said, recounting 11 appointment letters over five years.
UGC Guidelines vs. Ground Reality
The UGC’s 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) guidelines mandate a starting basic pay of ₹57,700 for Assistant Professors, translating to ₹70,000–₹1,00,000 monthly with allowances. However, institutions routinely flout these norms, offering salaries far below the threshold.
Key Points:
- Substandard Pay: NIT Delhi pays contractual PhD holders ₹80,000, while those with “PhD submitted” get ₹70,000; M.Tech candidates receive just ₹49,650.
- 11-Month Contracts: Premier institutions like NITs normalize short-term contracts, renewed annually to avoid permanency.
- Private Sector Exploitation: Private universities offer even lower salaries, with some paying post-PhD faculty as little as ₹55,000 monthly.
A 2023 AmbitionBox report revealed that contractual Assistant Professors at NIT Silchar earn ₹4.9–₹6.2 lakh annually, significantly below UGC standards. This gap between policy and practice highlights systemic underpayment, legitimized by public institutions and exploited further by private ones.
Systemic Vacancies Fuel Exploitation
The All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2021–22 reported a 34% vacancy rate in sanctioned faculty posts across central universities. Instead of filling these with permanent hires, institutions opt for cheaper contractual appointments, perpetuating a cycle of insecurity.
Key Points:
- Vacancy Crisis: Nearly one-third of faculty positions remain unfilled, pushing reliance on temporary staff.
- Delhi University Exception: One of the few institutions prioritizing permanent recruitment, though challenges persist.
- Deterrent to Scholars: Low pay and insecurity discourage young academics from pursuing teaching careers.
Education experts warn that offering salaries lower than corporate entry-level jobs after years of doctoral research could deter talent, weakening India’s academic ecosystem.
The Human Cost: Voices of Contractual Faculty
Contractual faculty face not just financial exploitation but also professional marginalization. Dr. Ankit Kumar Srivastava from Indrashil University describes the precarious nature of ad hoc appointments, where contracts are not counted as experience and faculty are barred from supervising PhD students or accessing professional development.
Key Points:
- Heavy Workloads: Contractual faculty often handle teaching loads equal to or greater than permanent staff.
- Favouritism in Hiring: Recruitment processes favor insiders, sidelining qualified candidates.
- Regional Bias: In some regions, like Gujarat, local candidates are preferred, compromising merit.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, contractual faculty faced further hardship, teaching online without pay while permanent staff received full salaries. Kundu’s experience at VJTI, where his contract was fragmented into three-month extensions, underscores the systemic rot in hiring practices.
Controversial UGC Draft Regulations 2025
The UGC’s draft regulations for 2025, which propose removing the 10% cap on contractual faculty, have sparked outrage among academics. Critics argue this move will normalize precarious employment and exacerbate exploitation.
Key Points:
- Removal of Cap: The 2018 limit of 10% contractual faculty is set to be scrapped, allowing unlimited temporary hires.
- Academic Concerns: Teachers fear increased job insecurity, reduced research productivity, and compromised educational quality.
- Government Defense: The government claims the change addresses faculty shortages, but critics see it as a cost-cutting measure.
Non-BJP-ruled states and teachers’ associations have opposed the draft, citing risks to academic autonomy and quality. The regulations also face criticism for centralizing Vice-Chancellor appointments, raising concerns about political interference.
The Path Forward: Restoring Fairness in Academia
The exploitation of contractual faculty threatens India’s ambition to become a global education hub. Addressing this crisis requires enforcing UGC pay rules, prioritizing permanent recruitment, and ensuring transparency in hiring processes.
Key Points:
- Enforce UGC Norms: Institutions must adhere to prescribed salary and benefit structures for all faculty.
- Fill Vacancies: Permanent hiring should replace reliance on temporary contracts to ensure job security.
- Combat Nepotism: Transparent, merit-based recruitment can restore trust in academic institutions.
By valuing its educators, India can strengthen its higher education system, fostering innovation and academic excellence for a truly Atmanirbhar Bharat.
