Letter to BS: Public universities, colleges should get full autonomy

It is time that Association of Indian Universities and University Grants Commission gave full autonomy to our public universities and colleges in faculty selection

Indian public universities are far behind than those in the West when it comes to selection, recruitment, encouragement and retention of faculty members. Rigid rules, tight government controls, narrow minded and unaware selection committees are some of the main reasons for this. Moreover, these committees don’t value others’ time. To process even simple applications, they take months. On the contrary, in the West, the rules are very liberal and relaxed. One will find professors having degree in economics teaching in the political science department and vice-versa; similarly, those holding degrees in physics or chemistry teach in electronic/computer engineering departments. Professors