8 Vacant Posts, 16 Contractual: Ministry Reveals Faculty Shortage At SPA Vijayawada (image: YouTube screengrab)
New Delhi: The Union government on Monday (July 28) informed the Lok Sabha that 8 faculty positions are vacant out of the total 49 sanctioned posts at School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), Vijayawada. The response came from Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, addressing a starred question by Jana Sena party MP Balashowry Vallabbhaneni.
The faculty recruitment in SPA is a continuous process and the vacancies arise due to reasons like promotions, retirements, resignations, death, among others, Minister informed the parliament.
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“At present 08 faculty positions are vacant out of the total 49 sanctioned posts at
SPA Vijayawada,” the Minister stated in the Parliament.
credit: Lok Sabha document
“Presently, sixteen qualified faculties have been contractually engaged, so as to address short term academic and institutional requirements,” the Minister added.
Minister further emphasised that the current vacancies are not fundamentally due to an increase in student strength and being an Institution of National Importance (INI), SPA follows a very rigorous and multistage selection process ensuring that only “meritorious faculties” are recruited.
Mission Mode Recruitment Campaign
Lok Sabha leader has also asked about all Central Higher Educational Institutions (CHEIs) filling up the vacancies on a Mission Mode within a period of one year. In August 2021, the Ministry issued instructions to all CHEIs to fill vacancies especially those reserved for specific categories in a Mission Mode.
The recruitment drive in September 2022 pushed CHEIs to fill all outstanding vacancies, particularly in reserved categories. As a result of this drive, CHEIs recruited 28,450 individuals from September 2022 to July 2025. This included 16,507 faculty members and 11,943 non-faculty personnel.
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While being asked about the SPI’s filling up of vacancies, Minister replied that the Institute responded promptly to these directives and accelerated its recruitment efforts and has filled 6 vacant posts.
