How India should recruit and train higher education faculty for the AI era

Ask the toppers of any graduating class what they want to do next- university teaching rarely tops the list. The reason is simple: teaching is not perceived as a competitive, well-paid, or clearly defined career choice. This explains why classrooms across the country are increasingly staffed by overworked, ad hoc lecturers and guest faculty rather than our best youngsters.

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As higher education addresses this structural deficit, it faces a simultaneous, radical disruption: the explosion of Generative AI.

The consequences of this systemic problem reached a tipping point when the Supreme Court directed all Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) to fill vacant teaching posts within four months, as chronic faculty shortages and an over-dependence on under-prepared guest teachers directly contribute to severe student burnout.