Thiruvananthapuram: In a significant decision aimed at attracting more teaching talent, the Kerala Government has raised the upper age limit for the appointment of assistant professors in universities, government, as well as aided colleges, from 40 to 50 years. The new order covers government/aided arts and science colleges, law colleges, training colleges, Sanskrit colleges, Arabic colleges, and universities in the state.

To implement this decision, the necessary amendments will soon be made in the special rules of the Collegiate Education Department and university statutes. Currently, the retirement age of university teachers in Kerala is 60 years. The age of superannuation of college teachers was also raised to 60 years after the contributory pension scheme came into force. Consequently, an assistant professor getting an appointment by the age of 50 can continue in service for at least 10 years.

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Incidentally, guidelines prepared by the University Grants Commission (UGC) do not specify any upper age limit for faculty appointments. However, such an age restriction in Kerala often prevents teaching professionals in other states and abroad from shifting to institutions here. The state government says that the latest order is intended to overcome this hurdle and attract more high-calibre teachers to the state.

For appointment as assistant professors, qualifications such as PhD and post-doctoral fellowships are necessary, which could take years to acquire. As a result, the upper age limit of 40 years forces several candidates to seek other employment.

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"The Shyam B Menon Commission appointed to suggest measures to improve the higher education sector also had studied this issue and wanted the upper age limit for assistant professor appointments to be increased to 50 years," said Minister for Higher Education R Bindu. The Collegiate Education Director and Kerala Higher Education Council also made similar suggestions.

At the same time, it is pointed out that a candidate appointed as an assistant professor would have to serve at least 12 years to be promoted to associate professor, and those joining the service in their late 40s might have to retire in the entry-level post itself.

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Meanwhile, Kerala is planning to altogether do away with the upper age limit for direct appointments to the posts of professor and associate professor in universities. The latest order on assistant professor appointments also says that university statutes should be amended to implement this plan, on the model of the UGC rules.

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