The university claims its annual attempts to find the ``right kind'' of faculty comes to naught because of the ``increasingly stringent'' recruitment guidelines of the Bar Council and the University Grants Commission.

While the Bar Council demands that every law faculty in the country have a minimum of four professors, four full-time lecturers and a dean -- all with a minimum of 55 per cent marks -- an UGC rule to come into effect from the next academic year makes it mandatory for recruits to clear the National Eligibility Test.

``We have advertised the vacancies several times'', says faculty dean S N Parikh. ``But, among the most recent lot, the few who had 55 per cent had not cleared the NET.''

``But efforts are continuing'', adds Pro-Vice-Chancellor Deepak Kumar De. ``Interviews are being conducted every Saturday and Monday. But the State government's recent directive that universities seek State approval before recruiting anyone may compound the problem.''

``The posts have been advertised outside the city three times in the past two years'', say sources. ``But very few people who want to join the teaching profession have cleared the NET'', grumbles a university official, claiming it was difficult to honour the Council and the UGC guidelines.

The university thus has to make do with temporary lecturers, who just need to have a degree in law; there are three in the faculty right now. Though students have no complaints against them, they say it's apparent the job-uncertainty weighs on their minds. There is no provision to absorb the temporary lecturers in the permanent posts.

While admitting candidates who met all the criteria may be hard to come by, Baroda Bar Association president and senior Senate member Narendra Tiwari says, ``There may be a dearth of people with these qualifications in the city, but not in the State.''

Nagin Shah, another lawyer, says that the guidelines are stringent, but agrees with Tiwari that there must be people with the appropriate qualifications.

The principal problem, according to a senior faculty professor talking on the condition of anonymity, however, is the reluctance of lawyers to take up teaching in the first place. Though the wide differences in remuneration is a reason that cannot be wished away, the professor says, ``There are good professionals in the city and the State, but that is of very little use to the faculty.''

And future generations of lawyers.