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DEHRADUN: In a bid to check shortage of teachers in the hill areas of the state, Uttarakhand government on Saturday made it mandatory for new professors to serve in the hills for the first five years of their services .

As per the new guidelines, one will have to crack the state's public service commission exams to become an assistant professor.

Speaking to TOI, Dhan Singh Rawat , state higher education minister, said that as many as 877 assistant professors are being hired in Uttarakhand through the state public service commission exams. The government has already shortlisted 325 assistant professors and the new recruits have already been informed that they will have to serve in hills for the first five years of their service, he added. “The step has been taken to ensure that colleges and universities in the hill areas are not deprived of good teachers and professors. Shortly, we will start recruitment for the remaining 552 vacant assistant professor posts,” said the minister.

Rawat added that the education department has also directed the principals of government colleges to hire professors and teachers on an ad hoc basis. As per the guidelines, the ad hoc professors can be appointed for a monthly package of Rs 25,000 and they must fulfill all the selection criteria laid down by the University Grants Commission .“Uttarakhand is the only state where the student-teacher ratio in government colleges is 1:53, which is better than the UGC guidelines of 1:60. Our government is ensuring quality education for students of the hill state,” added Dhan Singh Rawat.

