CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Higher Education Department’s decision to discontinue low-enrolment departments in 29 government Arts and Science colleges has created uncertainty among thousands of guest lecturers across the State.
As part of efforts to rationalise courses and introduce programmes aligned with current the academic and employment demands, the department had decided to close physics, mathematics and history departments in many colleges in Chennai, Madurai, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Vellore, Tiruchy, Tirunelveli and Thanjavur.
In place of these courses, the department has plans to introduce new courses, including BCom, Data Science and other programmes. Although government colleges have permanent faculty members, more than 5,000 teaching posts remain vacant across TN.
To address the shortage and ensure uninterrupted academic activities, 8,751 guest lecturers are currently engaged in Shift I and Shift II courses across 181 government Arts and Science colleges. They receive a monthly salary of Rs 30,000.
Guest lecturers for physics and mathematics said the closure of these departments could affect their employment prospects. V Thangaraj, general secretary, Tamil Nadu All Government Colleges Guest Lecturers Association, urged the government not to close the departments entirely.
“Introduce specialised programmes such as mathematics with Data Science and other interdisciplinary courses to attract students to traditional science disciplines. Waiving tuition fees for courses with low enrolment will help retain departments and safeguard faculty positions,” he suggested.