May 20, 2025 - The Rajasthan High Court has issued notices to the State Government, Principal Secretaries of the Law and Higher Education Departments, the Commissioner of College Education, and the Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC), asking why the retirement age of college teachers should not be raised to 65 years.

A Division Bench comprising Justice Indrajit Singh and Justice Anand Sharma passed this order on yesterday, May 19, while hearing a petition filed by Professor Ashok Kumar Agrawal of MSJ College, Bharatpur, Dr Vishram Lal Bairwa, Principal of Karauli College, and professors Nathu Singh Rajput and Bholaram Sharma.

The petitioners urged the Court to direct the State to raise the retirement age to 65 years and restrain the authorities from forcing the petitioners to retire at 60 until a final decision is made.

Representing the petitioners, advocates Supriya and Akshay Dutt Sharma argued that the UGC has already made provisions to set the retirement age of college teachers at 65 years. They pointed out that medical college teachers in Rajasthan already benefit from an increased retirement age.

Currently, approximately 20 States, including Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Bihar, have implemented the 65-year retirement age for college teachers. In this context, keeping the retirement age at 60 in Rajasthan goes against Constitutional provisions, especially when the State is facing a severe shortage of college faculty.

Owing to this shortage, a significant number of teaching positions remain vacant in regular colleges, colleges run under the RajMES scheme, and agriculture colleges, which is adversely affecting the academic ecosystem, the petitioners claimed.

Source: Media Reports