The architectural integrity of any higher education system rests upon the stability of its teaching workforce. In recent years, a growing trend has emerged where universities and colleges increasingly rely on ‘guest faculties’ to fill the gaps left by vacant permanent positions. By definition, a guest faculty is a temporary educator engaged on a lecture-wise or monthly basis, theoretically brought in to provide specialized industry knowledge or to cover temporary surges in enrolment. However, what was intended as a flexible, supplementary arrangement has metastasized into a structural dependency. This shift is particularly contentious when it involves the systematic re-engagement of retired professors.

While the impulse to respect and utilize the wisdom of veteran educators is good and intellectually sound, the practical fallout of this policy suggests a troubling disregard for the vitality of the next generation of scholars. The situation in Odisha serves as a stark microcosm of this national crisis. Data reveals a staggering shortfall in the state’s higher education workforce, with nearly 65 per cent of permanent teaching posts lying vacant across 17 state public universities. Out of approximately 2,003 sanctioned permanent positions, only about 782 are currently filled by regular faculty, leaving over 1,200 vacancies. To bridge this massive gap, the state has engaged nearly 1,000 guest faculty members across these universities alone.

The reliance is even more pronounced in newly established or upgraded institutions; for instance, universities like Odisha State Open University and Vikram Dev University in Jeypore have often had to function with zero regular faculty members in core cadres, relying entirely on guest teachers and retired professors. This high-stakes ‘patchwork’ management highlights an urgent need for the state to transition from temporary fixes to sustainable, permanent recruitment. Statistical trends across the global south and various developing economies indicate that the reliance on temporary teaching staff is no longer an anomaly but a standard operating procedure.

In many state-run universities, guest and contractual faculties now comprise nearly 40 to 50 per cent of the total teaching strength. According to recent educational census data, tens of thousands of qualified PhD holders are currently circulating through the system not as tenure-track professors, but as ‘academic migrants’ moving from one temporary contract to........

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