BLACKBOARD

Want to become an assistant professor but yet to pass the UGC National Eligibility Test (NET)? Clearing NET will no longer be a mandatory qualification for appointment as an assistant professor, according to the UGC draft guidelines. Now, candidates having a postgraduate degree in ME or MTech with at least 55 per cent marks will be eligible for the post of assistant professor (entry level post). Stakeholders have been requested to submit feedback on the draft regulations by February 5, 2025. The new regulations also change the selection process of VCs. According to the guidelines, the selection for the vice chancellor's post will be through an all-India newspaper advertisement and public notification.

At a time when we keep discussing gender bias in the workforce, the 2023-24 UDISE+ data comes as a silver lining. For the first time, female teachers make up 53.3 percent of all school teachers in India. This surely shows the increasing participation of women in the teaching profession. In 2018-19, out of 94.3 lakh teachers, 47.16 lakh (50.01%) were men and 47.14 lakh (49.98%) were women. However, by 2023-24, the number of female teacher numbers increased to 52 lakh, while male teachers dropped to about 45 lakh. Private schools in the country have also reported a high percentage of female teachers. From 2018-19 to 2023-24, the number of female teachers in private schools rose by 20%. However, the government schools saw only a 6% increase in female teachers during the same period.