Editor,
I wish to place before the education minister a matter that demands urgent policy attention – the continued neglect of commerce faculty recruitment in government colleges of Arunachal Pradesh.
Commerce education in the state stands at a crossroads. While student enrolment in commerce streams continues to rise, sanctioned teaching posts have remained stagnant for years. This policy inertia has resulted in commerce departments operating with critically inadequate faculty strength, exposing a serious disconnect between educational planning and ground realities.
Institutions such as the Donyi Polo Government College, Kamki; Wangcha Rajkumar Government College, Tirap; and the Government College, Bomdila are not exceptions but indicators of a wider systemic failure. Commerce departments in these colleges are expected to function under UGC norms, yet they do so without the minimum number of regular faculty required to maintain academic standards.
The core issue is not the absence of qualified candidates but the absence of political and administrative will to revise sanctioned posts. Many commerce departments were approved decades ago when student intake was minimal. Since then, enrolment has multiplied, curricula have expanded, and academic responsibilities have increased – yet staffing structures remain frozen in the past. Official vacancy figures, therefore, present a misleading picture that masks the real extent of the crisis.
Instead of addressing this structural deficit, the system has normalised dependence on guest and contractual teachers. This practice may keep classrooms running, but it weakens institutional foundations. Temporary appointments cannot replace the role of permanent faculty in research, mentoring, curriculum development, and academic leadership. Regular teachers are overburdened, academic output suffers, and students pay the price.
This is not merely an administrative lapse; it is a policy failure with long-term consequences. Commerce education is vital for building financial literacy, entrepreneurial capacity, and managerial skills – competencies essential for the economic self-reliance of Arunachal. Undermining commerce departments today means compromising the state’s economic future tomorrow.
The time for piecemeal solutions is over. What is required is decisive reform. The education department must immediately undertake a comprehensive assessment of faculty requirements in commerce departments across all government colleges, revise sanctioned posts in accordance with current student strength and UGC norms, and substantially increase the recruitment ratio through regular, transparent appointments.
The education minister’s intervention is crucial. Addressing this issue will not only restore academic balance but also reaffirm the government’s commitment to quality higher education and youth empowerment in Arunachal.
Bage Kamsi,
Assistant professor aspirant