Reiterating the fact that the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) would not let the quality of the premier Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) suffer, Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal today said the decision of the IIT faculty to go on a hunger strike was against the IIT rules of conduct.
“The IITs have asked for autonomy but that doesn’t mean that we will not regulate them. The government has never interfered with their autonomy but will regulate the pay structure of IITs as we are answerable to Parliament. I ask them to reconsider their hunger strike. I am deeply pained at such a public outcry,” Sibal told reporters here today.
The MHRD’s latest notification on pay structure says that about 40 per cent of the professors in the IITs will be promoted to the senior grade after completing six years in the post. It also says that the PhD holders should be appointed as assistant professors on contract basis. As a mark of protest, the faculty members of all the seven IITs decided to go on a hunger strike on September 24, besides giving an ultimatum to the government till October 1 to sort out the issue.
Sibal countered that all the demands of the IIT faculty members have been met. “They have been treated fairly. But now, they are goading IIMs to follow the same. If IITs are government-funded, they will be regulated,” said Sibal.
When contacted for a response, B S Sastry, vice-president of IIT Kharagpur’s Teachers’ Association, reiterated: “We are committed to the protest fast on September 24. Although it will not be forced on any faculty, we assume most faculty across IITs will follow it for the day. We will carry out our responsibilities as usual, though.” M Thenmozhi, president of the All India IIT Faculty Federation, could not be reached for comment.
For the last few years, the IIT faculty associations have been disgruntled about their pay structures being inadequate to attract quality faculty. The IITs felt that the Goverdhan Committee report submitted this February — which recommends higher salaries for all technical education teachers — would help in resolving the issue.
However, the notified revised pay structure announced by the HRD ministry in early August was much lower than their expectations. The remuneration for directors of the IITs, IIMs, the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISc), Bangalore, and the National Institute of Industrial Engineering, was fixed at Rs 80,000. However, this did not go down well with them considering that unlike the IIM professors, who earn through consulting assignments, salary is the only income for an IIT professor.
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Faculty associations were also unhappy about an HRD clause which said there would be a 40 per cent cap on professors who were eligible to receive higher pay after six years in the post. Also, at assistant professor level, the ministry had notified that one must have three years’ work experience and a PhD degree. This meant that IITs would not be able to take fresh graduates or doctorates as permanent faculty members.
MHRD will give IIMs autonomy if benchmarks are met: Sibal
The government will incrementally let go of the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) if they table a five-year vision of benchmarks. “The more they achieve, the more freedom they will get,” said Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal when asked if the IIMs could be made completely autonomous, as they were financially independent. The ministry will meet the IIMs “very soon” on this issue.