Temporary teachers: Plan finances amid uncertainty
Sangya Dubey, a 36-year-old guest lecturer at Maharaja Agrasen College in Delhi University, struggles to afford health insurance due to its high cost. Despite having a doctorate in political science, she relies on coaching assignments to supplement her low salary, resulting in inadequate financial planning. According to a 2026 Union Ministry of Education report, nearly 2.3 lakh of India's 17.3 lakh higher education teachers are non-permanent, owing to unfilled vacancies, recruitment delays, funding shortages, and cost-cutting measures.
B. Rajanarayan Prusty, Dean of Research and Innovation at Noida International University, explains that while permanent hiring is time-consuming, temporary faculty is used for specific needs such as introducing interdisciplinary studies or new technologies. The integration of temporary faculty reduces the teaching burden for permanent staff but often leaves them with lower pay, no medical, retirement, or increment benefits, and higher workloads.
Kashif Ansari, a 31-year-old assistant professor at O.P. Jindal Global University, contrasts his experience between temporary and permanent positions. As a guest faculty at Delhi University for seven years, he earned the same starting salary as permanent staff but lacked promotions and higher salary bands due to his ad hoc status.
Permanent teachers in central government institutes are appointed according to UGC guidelines, while non-permanent staff, including contract, guest, and ad hoc categories, receive lower pay and benefits. The UGC regulations differentiate between contract and guest faculty but not ad hoc, which typically entails honorarium payments without additional perks.
The disparity between the salaries of permanent and temporary staffers can be significant, with government-funded institutions sometimes paying three times more to permanent staff. This substantial financial gap creates challenges for non-permanent staff in planning for their future, investing wisely, and securing their financial stability.
Written by urgent.news from The Economic Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
