State Higher Education Minister Prem Prakash Pandey on Tuesday accepted that there is a faculty shortage  in most of the educational institutions of Chhattisgarh.

He said that the recruitment of around 980 faculty members is pending for the last one-and-a-half years.

He disclosed this during the oath taking ceremony of the newly-elected student union representatives at Kushabhau Thakre University of Journalism and

Mass Communication (KTUJM) here.

“We have sent the list of the pending recruitment for the faculty members to the Public Service Commission around one-and-a-half years years back. But, it is yet to gain momentum. It includes Polytechnics and Engineering colleges as well besides State Universities,” Pandey said.

He asked the University’s Vice Chancellor Dr Mansingh Parmar to fulfil the sanctioned posts of faculty members at their level.

Encouraging the newly-elected Student Union office-bearers he said, “The purpose of Student Union is to understand the democracy and develop the leadership qualities.”

Meanwhile, Vice Chancellor Dr Mansingh Parmar requested the Higher Education Minister to send a proposal to the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) for recognizing KTUJM as Central University since they fulfill the desired infrastructure.

The Minister felt that the university should prove its self-capability of getting the Centre’s recognition.

Notably, it is the second year of the university when student union polls were conducted. Megha Yadav has been elected the President of the Student Union.

Veteran Journalist Himanshu Dwivedi and ABVP leader T Jain were also present on the occasion along with faculty members, students and administrative staff.