New Delhi: As many as 4,500 openings for teachers are expected to be advertised for Delhi University (DU) colleges in a few days` time to address the longstanding issue of vacant seats, a university official said.


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"There are only a few colleges left which are yet to make corrections in their `reservations roster`, we are in correspondence with them. We had called a meeting of all college principals on May 3 and had asked them to make corrections. 


"In a few days, when the reservation rosters will be cleared for all the colleges, vacancies will be advertised," DU Dean of Colleges Devesh Sinha told IANS. 


He, however, refused to specify the number of days the colleges could take to complete the process and advertise the vacancies.


"For all I know, it may be done tomorrow, or may take some more time. But in all likelihood, it is a matter of few days... Colleges are autonomous, they have independent governing bodies. They are the appointing authorities," Sinha said.


Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) President Nandita Narain expressed her satisfaction at the prospect of fresh vacancies being announced, but demanded that the recruitment process should be more considerate towards ad-hoc teachers.


"We want this to start at the earliest and want it done simultaneously with the admissions. Nothing should come in the way of the recruitment process.


"We also want the Executive Council (of DU) to devise a mechanism wherein ad-hoc teachers of vintage can be absorbed without their having to go through interview, which they already have gone through once, when they were first hired," Narain told IANS. 


She added that it had happened before in 1979 and an exception could be made since DU`s was a peculiar case where the university "hasn`t held interviews for many years".


With respect to the impending students` admissions, Narain said they were likely to commence from the first week of June, but could not say with certainty since "none of the elected members of the Academic Council has been included in the admission committee this year". 


"This is unprecedented," she added. 


Earlier, in a communique, the university had informed that out of 26 colleges where principals have to be appointed, 14 have advertised the vacancy. The university said it had written a letter to the others to start the process "at the earliest".


The other 41 DU colleges had regular principals, Sinha said. 


A college is required to have a regular principal and a governing body at the time of faculty recruitment.