Guest and temporary teachers: How to build financial security with job uncertainty
Though the integration of temporary faculty reduces the teaching burden for the university’s permanent staff, the former often get the short end of the stick due to large pay disparities, a lack of medical, retirement, and increment benefits offer...
Sangya Dubey, 36, wants to buy health insurance, but can’t. “The comprehensive plans are too expensive and I can’t afford these,” says the guest lecturer at Maharaja Agrasen College, Delhi University. Despite a doctorate in political science, Dubey is forced to supplement her salary with income from coaching assignments. As a temporary staffer, her salary is low, job security is non-existent, and financial planning is awry despite saving 50% of her monthly income.
Dubey represents a segment of the non-permanent or temporary teaching staff on which India’s higher education system relies heavily. As per the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) for 2022-23 and 2023-24, released by the Union Ministry of Education in July 2026, of the 17.3 lakh higher education teachers, nearly 2.3 lakh comprise non-permanent staffers.
This dependence on temporary staff is primarily due to unfilled vacancies, recruitment delays, lack of funding, and cost-cutting measures, among other factors. A Parliamentary Standing Committee report tabled in March 2025 reveals that central higher education institutions had 28.5% of faculty posts vacant (5,410 of 18,940 sanctioned posts) and 56.2% of professor-level posts vacant, as of January 2025. These are across IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology), NITs (National Institutes of Technology), IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management), IISERs (Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research), central universities and other higher educational institutions.
“While traditional permanent hiring can be time-consuming, institutions require the use of experts when new areas of inter disciplinary studies or technology are intro duced. A larger part of the motivation for the switch to contractual or guest faculty relates to the adaptability of academic requirements, the need to incorporate industry, and the agility of recruitment,” says B. Rajanarayan Prusty, Dean, Research and Innovation, Noida International University.
Though the integration of temporary faculty reduces the teaching burden for the university’s permanent staff, the former often get the short end of the stick due to large pay disparities, a lack of medical, retirement, and increment benefits offered to regular staff, as well as higher workloads.
Sangya Dubey, 36, Delhi
Temporary post: Guest faculty, Maharaja Agrasen College, Delhi University (2025-present)
FINANCIAL FILE
Emergency fund: 3 months
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Health insurance: Nil
Property & loans: Nil
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Saving: 50% of income
Kashif Ansari, 31, Delhi
Permanent post: Assistant Professor, O.P. Jindal Global University (2023- present)
Ad-hoc post: Hansraj College, Delhi University (2016-22)
FINANCIAL FILE
Emergency fund: 12 months
Health insurance:
Rs.40 lakh + 5 lakh (university)
Property & loans:
Bought after permanent post
Saving: 30-40% of income
Disparity in pay & benefits
Permanent teachers in central government institutes are appointed as per the prescribed selection process, and are paid and promoted according to the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines. The non permanent staff is broadly categorised into contract, guest, and ad hoc. While the UGC regulations make a clearer distinction be tween ‘contract’ and ‘guest’ faculty, ‘ad-hoc’ appears in provisions related to recruitment and promotion, rather than as a separate category.
Ad hoc appointments are typically made to address an immediate need for teachers till a regular appointment is made, which can take a few months or even years. “I worked as an ad hoc lecturer at Hansraj College in Delhi University for seven years and got the same starting salary as the permanent staff,” says Kashif Ansari, Assistant Professor at O.P. Jindal Global University, where he currently has a permanent job. “However, I did not get the same promotion as regular teachers and, hence, was not eligible for the higher salary band,” says the 31-year-old from Delhi.
This is because the ad hoc staff may start at the same salary as the starting pay for per manent staffers (depending on the institute) but usually do not receive increments, pro motions, or benefits.
The UGC guidelines 2019 on guest faculty specify an honorarium of Rs.1,500 per lecture, capped at Rs.50,000 a month, without any allow ances, pension, gratuity or leave available to regular staffers. “Guest faculty contracts generally extend for one semester or for one academic year and tend to be offered to courses that are predominantly skill-based or elective,” explains Prusty.
Contract staffers have a fixed term and remuneration as per their contract with the institute, which can be the same as the start ing salary of a permanent staffer, without the same career progression or job permanence.
“Since contractual appointments are for a defined period, they do not usually carry full benefits associated with permanent employ ment. These include provident fund (PF), pension, National Pension System (NPS) related benefits, gratuity, medical insurance, paid leave and regular increments,” says Sahil Sachdev, President, SOIL Institute of Management.
As such, there can be a wide gap in the salaries of permanent and temporary staffers, with the former easily earning three times the pay of the latter in government-funded institutions, even as the private institutions usually follow their own discretion. The low quantum and uncertainty of salary for the non-permanent staff translate to inadequate financial planning that is riddled with in vesting constraints, poor risk coverage, low credit eligibility, shortfall in goal values, and an insecure future. If you, too, are a temporary teacher, here’s how you can manage your finances despite an unstable income.
Financial benefits: Permanent vs temporary
Government institutions typically follow UGC guidelines. Private institutions can have discretion over salary structures and increments, but operate within the framework of UGC and relevant state laws.
Komal Nagar, 47, Jammu
Permanent post: Professor, The Business School, University of Jammu (started as assistant professor in 2004)
FINANCIAL FILE
Emergency fund: Nil
Health insurance: Rs.5 lakh
Property & loans: Nil
Saving: 80-90% of income
Managing finances with an uncertain income
Financial planning
The unpredictability of employment and in come requires a different approach to money management for temporary teachers. They need to prioritise a larger financial runway, keep debt manageable, and build retirement and insurance protection independently.
Emergency fund: “A temporary professor should primarily focus on securing income and building an extra cushion or margin of safety because the job may not be renewed,” says Santosh Joseph, CEO, Germinate Investor Services.
This is why Ansari built an emergency corpus equal to a year of his monthly expenses during his ad hoc stint. It’s also the reason Komal Nagar, Professor at The Business School, University of Jammu, has not bothered to build it at all. “With income certainty and high savings, I never felt the need to have a separate emergency fund,” says the 47-year old permanent staffer.
“Temporary staffers should target 9-12 months of essential living expenses because academic job searches can take 6-12+ months, severance is rare, and paid notice periods beyond the contract are practically non-existent,” says Ashok Kumar E.R., Chief Client Officer, Scripbox. This money should be kept highly liquid. “Split across savings accounts, short-term fixed deposits and liquid mutual funds, never in pure equi ties or lock-in instruments like the PPF,” he adds.
Health and life insurance: Without an employer-linked health plan, it’s best to buy an independent plan at the earliest. “Buy a base family floater policy of Rs.10-15 lakh, and pair it with an adequate top-up plan.One should have an effective cover of Rs.40-65 lakh,” says Kumar.
Ansari has followed this advice well, opting for a Rs.40 lakh independent family floater plan. “Now, I also have a Rs.5 lakh plan provided by the university,” he says, though he has erred in not buying a term plan since his parents are financially dependent on him. “I am comparing plans and should buy one soon,” he says.
If you have dependants, it’s crucial to buy a term plan that is 15-20 times your annual income, instead of traditional insurance plans. “Term insurance should be priori tised regardless of whether employment is permanent or temporary. Buying early, while younger and healthier, generally makes insurance more affordable,” says Joseph.
Equity vs debt: Experts suggest a higher allocation to debt than to equity until income is stable or one has adequate savings. “Till the time you are building your emergency corpus, temporary staffers should have 80 100% in debt. On achieving stability, debt should be 40-50%, and during high uncertain ty, stick to 50-60% in debt,” says Kumar. “The nature of employment can influence how an individual allocates investments, particularly because liquidity becomes more important when future income follows contract cycles. However, it does not necessarily mean that contract professionals need to change their long-term equity allocation,” says Saurabh Jain, Co-founder & CEO, Stable Money.
Loans & credit:It’s best to avoid long-term loan commitments, such as a house purchase, or even a car loan, if your income flow is too patchy. “Banks subject contract employees to stricter scrutiny regarding service con tinuity. A massive 20-30-year EMI creates immense inflexibility if a contract isn’t re newed,” cautions Kumar. Keep EMIs below 30-35% of your take-home pay, or save ag gressively for a much larger down payment, or keep a separate 12-month EMI reserve, he adds.Also, make sure you use a credit card only if you can repay the amount in full, rather than rolling it over and relying on an uncertain notional income.
Saving ratio: Most experts agree on saving 25-35% of the monthly income. “It is also useful to keep the savings percentage flexible. During months when income is higher, such as through additional teaching or consulting opportunities, a larger portion can be directed towards savings and investments,” says Jain.
Income streams: Temporary staff ers should seriously consider building multiple income streams to tide them over the renewal gaps and reduce reli ance on a single college contract. “The objective is not necessarily building a large second business immediately. Even a supplementary income stream that contributes towards essential expenses can add flexibility and create an additional avenue for savings and investments,” says Jain.
Depending on one’s skill set and expertise, one could choose from coach ing, corporate training, freelance work, or content creation, but make sure the secondary job does not violate the college’s employment rules. “In order to earn money from other sources, one also needs to spend money on, say, annual subscriptions to register for online tutoring services,” says Dubey. “It’s a very marginal benefit over what one earns as a temporary staffer.”
