Centre plans to attract young talent to teaching - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

The Union Government on Friday said the 11th Five Year Plan envisages increase in the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education to 15 percent of the population in the age cohort group of 18-24 years by 2011-12. Replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Human Resource Development D. Purandeswari said: "This requires a substantial increase in the number of institutions and consequently would require an adequate number of teachers for imparting education." Purandeswari said that failure to redress the faculty shortage would hamper the achievement of the targets for increase in GER set out by Government. She informed members that Government has taken measures to attract talent into the academic profession by liberalizing pay and other incentives at levels higher than that provided to the All India Civil Services (Group 'A') at the entry stage. "The age of superannuation has been increased to 65 years for persons engaged in teaching in higher education institutions," Purandeswari said. The Government has constituted a Task Force under Prof. Sanjay Dhande, Director, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur to assess the existing faculty shortage and the requirement of quality faculty in technical, professional and University education considering the need to achieve the targeted GER in the remaining period of the Eleventh Plan and the Twelfth Plan. The Government has asked the committee to suggest remedial policies and other measures to meet the estimated shortfalls in quality faculty.