The protest by aspirants for public employment in Dharwad seems to have put the ruling dispensation under pressure, while about 36% of the sanctioned posts in the State government are currently lying vacant. The Opposition has been quick to seize the opportunity and extend support to the protesting candidates.
While the State government’s current predicament comes around the confusion and judicial intervention in the internal reservation issue that has stalled recruitment for nearly a year now, two key commissions — reports of which were submitted to the government in recent months — have cautioned the government against “automatic” replacement of retiring staff.
Planning panel report
The Karnataka Policy and Planning Commission, headed by B.R. Patil, which submitted its report recently, is learnt to have cautioned the government against filling up existing vacancies on “as-is” basis, especially in the faculty recruitment for Karnataka’s higher education system. Of the 24,788 posts in higher education, 13,599 are currently vacant and the government has sanctioned filling up of 2,000 posts.
The education sub-committee in the commission is learnt to have pointed out that hiring without re-thinking the higher education’s future runs the risk of misalignment with rapidly evolving economy, which is being driven by Artificial Intelligence, automation, and emerging industries. The sub-committee, sources said, was not against recruitment and also acknowledged significant shortage of teaching staff across government degree colleges and State universities.
Top six departments with vacancies
| Department | Sanctioned posts | Vacant posts | Outsourced |
| School Education | 2,84,086 | 79,694 | 48,728 |
| Home | 1,30,029 | 28,188 | 117 |
| Health & Medical Edu | 75,411 | 37,572 | 0 |
| Urban Development | 39,227 | 16,937 | 383 |
| Revenue | 32,792 | 10,867 | 1,607 |
| Higher Education | 24,788 | 13,599 | 1,173 |
*Source: Second Karnataka Administrative Reform Commission
At a glance
Total Sanctioned Strength: 8,16,388
Working posts: 51,886
Vacant posts: 2,94,870
Outsourced posts: 70,492
“Technological shifts such as AI, digitisation, and new labour models, have reduced market’s reliance on generic degrees. Many traditional degree programmes across social sciences, humanities, and general sciences were historically valued for symbolic degree capital rather than job-linked competence,” the source explained.
Further, the source said: “Sanctioned faculty posts reflect older disciplinary boundaries, curriculum modes, and staffing patterns. A blind recruitment exercise has risk of locking public resources into outdated programme architecture that may no longer serve societal or economic priorities.”
Against automatic replacement
Meanwhile, though the second Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission headed by R.V. Deshpande identified 2.94 lakh vacant posts as against the sanctioned strength of 8.16 lakh in the State, it also cautioned against automatic replacement of retiring staff and has called for periodic review of sanctioned posts, besides abolition of redundant and obsolete posts.
Interestingly, in the Backward Classes Welfare Department, the ARC identified 240 BE graduates, 180 MTech graduates, and about 2,000 MCA/BBA/BCA graduates working as kitchen and allied staff, revealing the desperation for government job. A significant number of BE/ MTech/MCA graduates are working as first division and second division clerks or junior assistants.
Though it has recommended recruitment in a time-bound manner, the ARC also asked the government to review posts to justify afresh with current relevance and necessity.
Sub-classification issue
Public recruitments in Karnataka has been hit over the last year-and-a-half over the issue of Scheduled Castes sub-classification following the August 2024 order of the Supreme Court. While the recruitment had been stopped for about a year, the government has relaxed the age eligibility criteria to provide a chance for candidates who have crossed the age limit. However, with the sub-classification case being heard in the Karnataka High Court, recruitments have been hit. However, on Thursday, the State government decided to stick to 50% quota and restart recruitment process.
“Sanctioned faculty posts reflect older disciplinary boundaries, curriculum modes, and staffing patterns. A blind recruitment exercise has risk of locking public resources into outdated programme architecture that may no longer serve societal or economic priorities”
The cost of recruitment
The demand to fill up 2.94 lakh vacant posts is coming around a time when the share of committed expenditure that includes salaries and pension has gone up, especially after the implementation of the pay commission recommendations. While the estimated expenditure on salaries is ₹85,860 crore for 2025-2026, pension was ₹37,655 crore, which is about 40% of the revenue expenditure that was pegged at ₹3.11 lakh crore. The funding for five guarantee schemes — estimated to be around ₹55,000 crore — has only widened revenue deficit. The Finance Department — over the years and across all governments — has also been tough on the question of hiring of personnel that is contributing to the ballooning revenue expenditure.
(This is the second of a three-part series)
Published – February 27, 2026 07:00 am IST
