Faculty attrition is not a new problem nor is it unique to India. Universities everywhere struggle to retain teaching staff. Most existing commentary on the subject follows a familiar pattern: it lists reasons for departure, cites low salaries and heavy workloads, and calls for better pay and more respect for academics. These points are valid but they miss what is distinctive about the Indian case, which is vacancy rates rise with seniority.
A Parliamentary Standing Committee report on higher education tabled in Parliament in March 2025, recorded faculty vacancy data as of January 31, 2025 across IITs, NITs, IIMs, IISERs, and central universities. Of 18,940 sanctioned teaching posts in these institutions, 17.97% of assistant professor posts were vacant, 38.28% of associate professor posts were vacant, and 56.18% of professor posts were vacant. As a result, the vacancy rate more than triples between the entry rank and the senior‑most rank.
Seen against global patterns, this is unusual. In the U.S. and the U.K., attrition is usually concentrated at the early‑career stage, where job insecurity, tenure pressure, and low pay push people out before they are established. Once a scholar reaches a senior rank, retention improves.
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