Higher Education Minister M.C. Sudhakar said that 5,000 vacant posts in the Higher Education Department, including that of assistant professors, will be filled in a phased manner.

Speaking at the orientation programme for newly appointed assistant professors organised by the Higher Education Department here on Monday, he said as stated in the Congress manifesto, the government is committed to filling 2.5 lakh posts in the five years of the party’s tenure.

“The Chief Minister has promised to fill vacancies in the Higher Education Department and discussions have been held with the Finance Department in this regard,” he said.

“By the end of next month, the process of appointing 310 principals of degree colleges after 20 years will be completed. I know you were worried owing to the confusion regarding the recruitment process. Hundreds of people came to my house every morning and put pressure on me, but the problem was not so easy to solve. Our intention was to solve it so that no legal complications would arise in your future,” he added.

Further, the Minister stated that government degree colleges face many challenges and have to compete with private colleges. “The government expects a lot from newly-appointed assistant professors and you should work to ensure that the students of rural areas are provided with more educational opportunities so that their expectations are not disappointed,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Chief Minister D.K.Shivakumar said: “Karnataka is known for quality education in the entire country and there are 200 engineering colleges and more than 70 medical colleges. You have a big responsibility to prepare students who have not studied engineering or medicine.”

Srikar M.S., Principal Secretary of Higher Education Department, Majushree.N., Commissioner of Collegiate Education, and others participated.