Fixed-pay assistant professor service to be counted as experience for direct recruitment in Gujarat

In a major clarification affecting academic recruitment across Gujarat, the state education department has issued a circular to the Commissioner of Higher Education stating that five years of service rendered as a fixed-pay assistant professor will be counted as academic experience for direct recruitment to associate professor and professor posts in government universities.

The clarification refers to an earlier communication dated February 16, 2024, relating to  Saurashtra University, wherein the education department had clearly stated that five years of fixed-pay service as an assistant professor should be treated as valid academic experience.

To maintain uniformity and parity, the department has now ordered that the same principle be applied across all government universities under its jurisdiction.

Ahead of the new financial year, the state government had directed all government universities to initiate recruitment processes for vacant teaching and non-teaching posts. Following this directive, recruitment processes have been initiated at Bhavnagar University, Junagadh University, Saurashtra University and Gujarat University.

At Gujarat University, recruitment for non-teaching staff is currently under way, while the process to fill more than 100 teaching posts is expected to begin in the coming months. However, concerns have been raised over whether the education department’s clarification regarding fixed-pay assistant professor experience has been applied in recruitment processes already completed at some universities.

The clarification is expected to benefit assistant professors working on fixed pay in government and grant-in-aid colleges who have completed five years of service.