Departments under the Science section at SPPU too have been hit, with the Biotechnology Department reporting 83 per cent vacancy, as only one out of the six positions there are currently filled. The Physics Department has 68 per cent vacancy, with only 13 professors out of the 40 sanctioned. Similarly, the Zoology Department has 67 per cent vacancy, while the figure is 57 per cent in the Chemistry Department.

The Head of one of the departments at SPPU, who is also its lone professor, told The Indian Express that it is “very difficult” to run the section. “There are administrative duties that I cannot share with anybody else. Secondly, the entire work of teaching and research is reduced to one person, which is strenuous. Since my department is a very rare one in universities, the work in the entire state is affected. There is no senior faculty available with the expertise in various specialisations.”

Nine departments at the university have no government-funded professors. These are: Atmospheric Space Science (3 sanctioned), Education (1), Environmental Science (1), Interdisciplinary Studies: Humanities and Social Science (1), Interdisciplinary Studies: Science (1), Instrumental Science (1), National Service Scheme (1), Student Development (1), and Sports department (1).

In addition to the 384 government-sanctioned faculty positions, the varsity also has 220 university-sanctioned vacancies in departments like Management Sciences, and Computer Sciences. Out of these 220 positions, only 98 are filled and 122 lie vacant. The SPPU also has 94 faculty members working under ‘various funds’ across departments.

Data on government-funded positions accessed by The Indian Express.

How research is affected

Professor Sanjay Dhole, Head of the Physics Department at SPPU, which is noted for its work, told The Indian Express, “I joined the department in 1993 and we had 38 professors then. In the last 30 years, the number has come down to 13, out of which two are set to retire by November. We will then have only 11 professors.”

Stating that the shortage of professors affects the running of various scientific instruments in the department, Prof Dhole said, “We have very good infrastructural and research facilities, but we need faculty to utilise these labs. We can cover the teaching curriculum by getting one professor to teach two to three subjects, but what about research and the running of laboratories?”

He continued, “We have a biophysics laboratory, but don’t have an expert. For material physics, we have various instruments like a field emission microscope. For nuclear physics, we have a neutron generator, a microtron accelerator, etc. But to run these specialised equipment, we need faculty, right?”

Prof Dhole said the department is famous for its labs, and is well known across the country as well as internationally. “If we don’t have faculty members to take care of them, what will remain? Our department produces good research. The faculty publishes 15-20 papers every year. We have brought in external research projects worth Rs 4-5 crore. The departmental research grants from the university stopped a few years ago. All the money is brought in by us.”

Even external funding is not easy to come by with fewer faculty members, said another professor at SPPU. He added that many grants mandate a minimum faculty strength under the eligibility criteria, which leaves the department unable to apply for these grants. “Even if they require a minimum faculty strength of four, we become ineligible for it because of our vacancies,” the professor stated.

“For day-to-day teaching, we are recruiting contractual assistant professors or visiting faculty. But the critical mass you require to have some cohesive ideas or bigger research projects is not present and the impact on society has stopped,” he said.

Hiring of faculty

Meanwhile, state universities in Maharashtra are waiting for the state government to decide on the recruitment policy. In December 2024, recruitment was halted by then Governor C P Radhakrishnan citing the model code of conduct, even though the elections were over by that point. The governor is the Chancellor of all state universities.

Professor Parag Kalkar, Pro-Vice Chancellor of SPPU, said, “As the process was put on hold last year, we will again have to give out advertisements for candidates to reapply as they might have new things to add to their portfolio in this period. This process will be initiated as soon as we get a nod from the government. We expect a large number of candidates as the last time recruitment happened was in 2016. The timeline of the recruitment will depend on the method of recruitment that the government decides, but I expect it will take a minimum of three to six months after we get the nod.”