The decision of the University Grants Commission (UGC) on relaxation of minimum eligibility conditions for appointment of assistant professors in universities and colleges has been welcomed by majority of academicians.As per the amended regulations, candidates who have registered for M.Phil/Ph.D programme before July 11, 2009 have now been exempted from clearing the National Eligibility Test (NET) or the State-Level Eligibility Test (SLET).Earlier, all PhD holders were required to clear the NET/SLET for being eligible to be appointed as assistant professors.The decision for exemption of this norm was taken by the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) last week, keeping in mind the shortage of faculty members in institutions of higher education across the country.Even in Punjab, close to 50 percent of faculty positions in government and non-government colleges are lying vacant or have been filled by guest/ad-hoc faculties.“Even though this is not a permanent solution to the existing shortage of teachers in colleges and universities, this will definitely help in filling up the vacant positions for now,” said Professor Nirmal Singh.At several regional centres of Panjab University and other government and non-government colleges across the state, there has been a shortage in the number of applicants applying for the posts of professors as well.According to the report of the UGC-appointed Task Force in 2010, over 35 percent of the faculty positions at central universities across India are lying vacant.The amended regulations also state that the candidate’s research thesis should have been evaluated by at least two external examiners, and the candidate should have also made at least two presentations at national conferences.However, according to President of Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union Professor Jagwant Singh, the amended norms for exemption are rather unclear, and do not offer a long-term solution to the issue of shortage of faculty members, reportedIndian Express.Source- Indian Education ReviewNitin S Joshi SPPU- College Librarian MAEER’s MIT School of Management (MITSOM) Kothrud, Pune 411038 M- 09922587907 Direct Line- 020-30273597 www.mitsom.org Noting is pleasanter than exploring a library.- W.S. Landor