Over 17,000 faculty appointments made since 2022; Centre flags ongoing faculty vacancies

Responding to unstarred questions in the Rajya Sabha, the Ministry said that while thousands of posts have been filled in recent years, the process of recruitment remains ongoing due to the continuous nature of vacancies.

3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Feb 6, 2026 09:33 AM IST

The welfare implications of fiscal and administrative reorientation are equally significant. (Express photo by Praveen Khanna/ representative)

Despite a sustained “mission mode” recruitment drive, faculty vacancies continue across Central Universities, IITs, NITs, IIMs and other centrally funded higher education institutions, the Ministry of Education informed Parliament on Tuesday. Responding to unstarred questions in the Rajya Sabha, the Ministry said that while thousands of posts have been filled in recent years, the process of recruitment remains ongoing due to the continuous nature of vacancies.

In a written reply, the Minister of State for Education Dr Sukanta Majumdar said that Centrally Funded Higher Educational Institutions (CFHEIs), including Central Universities, IITs, NITs and IIMs, are autonomous bodies and carry out faculty recruitment independently in accordance with their respective Acts and regulations. Vacancies arise regularly due to retirements, promotions, resignations, expansion of institutions and an increase in student intake, he noted.

The government said that from September 2022 onwards, all central institutions undertook a special recruitment drive in “mission mode” to fill backlog vacancies, including reserved posts for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

As of October 24, 2025, the Ministry said, a total of 29,979 posts have been filled across centrally funded institutions, including 17,494 faculty positions. Of these, Central Universities, IITs and NITs together accounted for 27,133 appointments, including 16,078 faculty posts.

Replying to another question on vacancies in Central Universities and premier institutions, the Ministry said that more than 17,490 faculty positions have been filled across Central Universities, IITs, IIMs and NITs under the mission mode recruitment drive till October 2025. However, the exact number of sanctioned and vacant posts varies across institutions and states, as recruitment powers rest with individual governing bodies.

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On the issue of ad-hoc, contractual and guest faculty, the government clarified that such appointments are made only as short-term, stop-gap arrangements to meet immediate academic requirements. These appointments are undertaken on a need basis, and regular recruitment continues alongside to fill sanctioned posts permanently, the reply added.

The Ministry also pointed to systemic measures aimed at improving transparency and speed in recruitment, including year-round and rolling advertisements, search-cum-selection procedures, and the UGC’s CU-CHAYAN portal, which provides a common platform for faculty recruitment across central universities.

While acknowledging concerns that teacher shortages can affect student–teacher ratios and research output, the government maintained that sustained recruitment efforts and policy interventions under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 are aimed at strengthening faculty capacity and improving educational quality across institutions.