JKKNIU Correspondent :
Nearly two decades after its establishment, the Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University (JKKNIU) is still grappling with a severe shortage of teachers.
Despite the steady growth in student numbers and the opening of new departments, the faculty strength has remained far below the required level. As a result, teaching, research, and overall academic activities are being disrupted.
According to the university’s 2025 annual report, 10,809 students are currently enrolled at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Based on international standards, the university should have at least 540 full-time teachers, one for every 20 students. In reality, there are only 220 faculty members, and many of them are on study leave, reducing the effective number even further.
University records show that nine out of 26 departments and institutes have five or fewer teachers. The situation is particularly critical in some cases Institute of Nazrul Studies currently has no faculty members.
Department of Population Science has eight approved positions, but four teachers are on leave. Philosophy, Marketing, and Anthropology departments have only four teachers each.
Film and Media Studies has only five teachers. Statistics and History each have only three teachers. Management and Sociology departments are functioning with just two teachers each.
University Grants Commission (UGC) has instructed universities to implement Outcome-Based Education (OBE), which requires at least 15-16 faculty members in every department. With the current staffing level, meeting this requirement appears impossible.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Md Jahangir Alam acknowledged the crisis, “We are aware of the shortage in several departments. We have informed the UGC repeatedly and sent formal letters. Although we have received assurances from them, no progress has been made so far. Without UGC’s approval, we cannot appoint new faculty members.”
Students say they are the ones most affected by the shortage. With only a handful of teachers in many departments, guest lecturers from other departments and universities are often brought in. Even then, syllabuses remain incomplete, examinations are delayed, and results are often published late.
Md Yusuf, a first-year student in the Department of Sociology, said, “Regular classes and exams are not being held. As a result, we are falling behind. Whenever we raise complaints, the administration only points to the shortage of teachers.”
