Paramedical colleges grapple with faculty shortage, medical education department urges swift action

The shortage of teaching staff at paramedical colleges in the state has become a concern for the medical education department, prompting officials to instruct principals and college management to address the deficit in faculty.
The state has about 1200 private nursing and paramedical colleges, facing a 20 to 40 percent shortage of teaching faculty for BS. nursing, general nursing and midwifery (GNM) and, other diploma courses. In some colleges, there are only 10 or 12 teachers for 180 students, as the third batch of 60 students is set to begin their academic session.
Dr Alok Kumar, secretary of the Uttar Pradesh state medical faculty, which oversees the teaching quality of these colleges said, “Colleges have been instructed to ensure that teaching positions are not left vacant. They have been asked to fill the vacancies on priority, though no specific timeline has been given timeline.”
Many colleges have yet to introduced the biometric attendance system due to insufficient teaching faculty. The vacancies in teaching positions may jeopardise their recognition status.
The state medical faculty conducted a verification of teaching faculty strength two years ago, but the process has not been repeated since. Officials acknowledge the existing shortfall and states thatthe verification will be conducted again when colleges claim to have required number of teachers on campus and the process could take a few months.