‘Universities are temples’: Andhra Pradesh High Court rules ad-hoc employees can only be replaced by regular ones | Legal News
5 min readNew DelhiFeb 5, 2026 07:00 AM IST Underlining that universities are temples of higher education, the Andhra Pradesh High Court recently said that frequent engagement and disengagement of assistant professors on an ad hoc basis impairs the quality of education. Justice Maheswara Rao Kuncheam was hearing a plea of an assistant professor, who was challenging a circular that sought to recruit new temporary teaching assistants. Justice Kuncheam said that Education is not mere administrative function of state, but a constitutional obligation intimately connected with future of nation. (Image enhanced using AI) The court directed that the petitioner is entitled to continue in his post until a permanent candidate is appointed through due process, provided there is sufficient student enrollment. The universities are temples of learning where continuity, academic stability, and sustained teacher–student engagement are statutes for maintaining standards of higher education,” the court observed on January 31. The order added that the frequent engagement and disengagement of assistant professors on an ad hoc or contractual basis disrupts academic planning and directly impairs the …









