The neoliberal restructuring of India’s economy has reshaped workforces across public and private sectors, replacing permanent positions with contractual employment. While court judgments repeatedly enforce the principle of “equal pay for equal work,” contract workers are routinely treated as second-class employees, deprived of social security, adequate wages, and institutional respect. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Tamil Nadu’s government arts and science colleges, where over 8,000 guest faculty members—many serving for more than two decades—continue to work on temporary contracts, often with no benefits or assurances of permanency. According to Frontline India, the majority of these educators are first-generation graduates from OBC, MBC, and SC/ST communities, representing a critical cohort in the state’s social mobility and educational empowerment.
The transformation of higher education in India began in earnest after the 1991 economic liberalisation. Public expenditure on education, which had risen from 0.64% of GDP in 1950–51 to 3.93% in 1990, plateaued between 3–4% despite surging enrolments. Policies treating higher education as a “non-merit good” shifted costs to students, while recruitment of permanent faculty stagnated. Tamil Nadu, despite progressive social justice politics, has not insulated its education system from these pressures. The state achieved a higher education Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of 47% in 2021–22, far above the national average of 28.4%, yet structural challenges persist: contractualisation, wage disparities, and the growth of private institutions have hollowed out the quality and accessibility of higher education.
Guest faculty in Tamil Nadu earn paltry wages compared to UGC recommendations. The Comptroller and Auditor General reported in 2020 that guest lecturers were paid Rs.15,000 per month, far below the Rs.50,000 benchmark suggested by the UGC. Incremental increases over the years—from Rs.6,000 in 2006 to Rs.25,000 in 2023—have failed to achieve parity with permanent faculty. Contracts typically last 11 months, with one month unpaid, despite continued teaching and administrative duties during that period. Faculty members undertake admission duties, exam responsibilities, and management of government schemes like Pudhumai Pen or Naan Mudhalvan without additional compensation, reflecting entrenched exploitation in government institutions.
A study conducted between March and November 2025, surveying 530 guest faculty members, revealed that 95% come from BC, MBC, SC, and ST communities, and 70% are first-generation graduates. Many have doctoral degrees and are key role models for younger generations in their communities. Yet, systemic neglect and caste-based discrimination undermine their contributions. As one long-serving guest faculty member told Frontline India, “Since Scheduled Castes form a substantial part of the guest faculty members, the government is not showing keen interest in making them permanent or providing legally mandated benefits. Further, since government colleges are a major helpline for employment and education for SC faculty and students, the government’s indifference shows a clear casteist attitude.”
The history of Tamil Nadu’s guest faculty policy reflects both political calculation and administrative neglect. Temporary teaching positions emerged in the 1970s, gradually evolving into guest faculty appointments by the late 1980s and 1990s. Periods of hiring freezes, particularly between 2001 and 2006 under the AIADMK, expanded reliance on non-permanent faculty. Successive DMK and AIADMK governments have pledged regularisation in election manifestos but have delivered only modest pay increases without addressing permanency. Current recruitment drives, such as the 2,708 permanent posts announced in 2025, remain delayed due to legal challenges, leaving guest faculty in continued uncertainty.
The state’s expansion of government colleges—from 54 in 1991 to 180 in 2026—has not been matched by permanent staffing. Ideally, these colleges would employ 14,000 permanent faculty; in reality, only around 4,700 are in permanent roles, with guest faculty shouldering the remainder. Private institutions, many linked politically, dominate higher education in the state, controlling 85% of enrolments and paying even less than government guest faculty. Increasing guest faculty pay risks destabilising these private institutions’ profit margins, further entrenching structural inequities and disincentivising government action.
The lived experiences of Tamil Nadu’s guest faculty underscore the human cost of this system. Many work 7–8 hours a day, then take on part-time jobs—from driving, sales, and running restaurants to supplying butcheries—to support their families. About 77% of surveyed faculty carry some form of debt. Despite meeting UGC qualifications, they are excluded from maternity benefits, provident fund, insurance, and pension schemes. Social and caste-based discrimination compounds these hardships. Faculty report differential treatment in access to classrooms, computers, office resources, and administrative assignments, with Dalit educators often marginalized in front of students. One faculty member from Mannargudi noted, “In some colleges, tables and chairs are not allotted to guest faculty members. Computers and keys are also given only to non-Dalits. Dalit guest faculty members are treated very poorly in front of the students.”
Contractualisation has a ripple effect beyond the faculty themselves, impacting student motivation and perceptions of government education. Guest faculty members are key role models for first-generation learners; their underpayment and discrimination risk dissuading younger generations from pursuing higher education, particularly in marginalised communities. Moreover, the absence of permanent posts and social security benefits leaves faculty vulnerable to economic shocks, health crises, and the precarity of aging without retirement support.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly reinforced pay parity for contractual academics. In Shah Samir Bharatbhai v. State of Gujarat (2025), it affirmed that faculty appointed through transparent, merit-based processes and performing duties similar to permanent staff are entitled to the minimum prescribed remuneration. Yet, in Tamil Nadu, implementation remains inconsistent, reflecting both administrative inertia and political calculation.
The situation represents a stark contradiction within the Dravidian model of governance. While the state champions social justice and education for all, systemic neglect of guest faculty—predominantly from SC, MBC, and other marginalized communities—reveals the limits of these promises. Without interventions that ensure permanent employment, social security, and equitable remuneration, the motivation for higher education among vulnerable communities risks erosion, threatening the very progress that Tamil Nadu has long touted.
As Frontline India reports, addressing these disparities is not only a matter of labor justice but also of sustaining public confidence in government education. Ensuring permanency, fair pay, and protection from caste-based discrimination for guest faculty will be essential to maintaining higher education as a credible pathway for social mobility and community empowerment. Failure to act could gradually erode trust in public institutions and compromise educational outcomes for generations of students from historically marginalized backgrounds.
