Wednesday, April 1, 2009

IITs seek raise for researchers

The Indian Institutes of Technology have asked the government to hike remuneration for post-doctoral research fellows to over twice the amount offered at present, to catapult the IITs into the league of top research hubs.

India’s premier engineering schools, best known for their undergraduate education, have proposed research remuneration that will be higher than the salaries of most IIT teachers, top government officials revealed.

The proposed hike, top IIT administrators said, is the outcome of a fear that the institutes may be left behind in an expected rush by Indian research institutions to grab the best brains available.

Those who have PhDs — not just in India, but across the world — generally enjoy three employment opportunities immediately after completing their doctorates — teaching, post-doctoral research, and research for industry.

In India, teaching has traditionally been the most favoured option. Research for industry has picked up as a career option in recent years.

“Post-doctoral fellows are the ideal fuel for good research. They are young, enthusiastic, and in many cases more aware of the latest progress in their field than those who have been teaching for decades,” an IIT director said.

The unprecedented hike in fellowship amount for researchers who have just completed their PhDs, has been proposed by IIT Delhi to the human resource development (HRD) ministry on behalf of all the IITs.

The proposal is to be discussed on 1st April,2009 at the IIT Delhi board of governors meeting, where a ministry representative will be present.

The IIT post-doctoral research fellowships at present offer a monthly stipend of Rs 15,000 — this amount was fixed in 2006.

IIT Delhi has proposed raising the fellowship amount to Rs 35,000 per month in the first year of research, and an annual increase capped at Rs 40,000 — irrespective of the length of the research.

Apart from the monthly stipend, fellows can avail of house rent allowance of Rs 10,000 per month at present.

The hike proposal suggests that the HRA start in the first year at Rs 10,000, but be increased up to Rs 15,000 subsequently.

Each IIT offers 25 post-doctoral fellowships every year.

The proposed fellowship amount is higher than the current salary of even the senior most faculty member at the IITs. Faculty members do however earn beyond their salaries by offering consultancy services to private firms.

Once the government enforces planned salary hikes recommended by a committee under former Indian Institute of Science director Goverdhan Mehta, professors will earn more than the amount proposed for post-doctoral fellows.

But assistant and associate professors — the two faculty positions below the rank of a professor at the IITs — may continue to receive lower pay than the proposed compensation for the fellows, government sources said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on at least two occasions, has expressed “concern” over the inability of the IITs to produce research recognised internationally on a par with China and other East Asian countries.

Most research at the IITs at present is conducted by regular faculty members in time squeezed out between classes and personal commitments.

Source : The Telegraph

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