IIT boards may be allowed to tweak a controversial new pay regime if it suffocates attempts at hiring top teachers, education minister Kapil Sibal today hinted, signalling fresh efforts to break a deadlock over salaries.
In a subtle but clear shift in his stance, Sibal today stressed that the new pay regime was meant only to lay down guidelines and could be interpreted by individual IIT boards according to their needs.
In an interview to a television channel, HRD minister Sibal said he was keen to extend the autonomy enjoyed by the boards of governors that head IITs.
He said he had called a meeting of the IIT council – the highest executive body of the institutes — where increasing their autonomy would be on the agenda.
“If the IIT faculty walk two steps, I am willing to walk a mile,” the minister said.
His comments are significant because they suggest the HRD ministry may allow the boards of the IITs to relax regulations on appointments placed on the institutes under the new pay regime.
The new pay notification requires that at least 10 per cent of all faculty at an IIT must be hired on contract at salaries that faculty say are too low to attract fresh talent.
Sibal’s comments have triggered hope in the faculty that the IITs may be allowed to hire brighter PhD graduates as teachers at a higher salary as an assistant professor rather than on contract.
“These are positive signals. We look forward to further developments in this direction,” M. Thenmozhi, the president of the All India IIT Faculty Federation, said over phone from Chennai.
The faculty has argued that a condition capping the number of professors eligible to a higher pay at 40 per cent could stall the growth of younger professors – as the cap would be filled by senior professors.
In response to a question during the interview today, Sibal hinted the government was willing to relook at the cap in years to come if such stagnation wasreported from the IITs.
4 comments :
Minimum Expectation for Asst. Prof. at IIM/IIT :
Recruitment of Ph.D with 3 yrs of teaching/ research/ industrial experience excluding however, the experience gained while pursuing Ph.D: to start in PB-4 (AGP 9,000). But in the latest revised notification, it is written that after 3 years of service, Asst. Prof. will move to PB-4 AGP 9000.
BUT SEE THE LATEST UGC NOTIFICATION:
UGC has issued fresh regulations dated Sep 23, 2009 for pay sclaes etc for
institutions under their purview. IIX notifications that we are agitated
about were marginally better than the UGC draft regulations, but the new
UGC regulations have upgraded things on the UGC side, so now, IIX pay
scales are distinctly LOWER than in UGC. The existing MHRD notifications
for IIX have become untenable. There are too many things for me to point
out, I will just pick a glaring example. UGC readers in the 12000 scale
who were "selected on or after 1.1.2006, shall be redesignated as
Associate Professor from the date of his/her selection, and will be placed
in the Pay Band IV of Rs.37400-67000 with AGP of Rs. 9000". If you have
the patience, read through the UGC regulations and have a good laugh.
So, why Ass. Prof. at IIM/IIT can not be placed at PB-4 with 3 years of expreiences ???
Mr. Kapil Sibal has no knowledge about the happening to UGC scale of Rs 12000 and IIM/IIT scale Rs 12000. In one case, faculty with same pay scale will move to PB-4 (in University) while with the same pay scale, IIM/IIT faculty will have to work for again 3 years to move PB-4. Mr. Kapil Sibal use your common sense before conducting IIT council meeting !!!
Dear Kapil Sibal Ji,
You WILL walk a mile for IITs only ... ??????
WHY CANT YOU WALK A FEW STEPS FOR NITs.... IN PARTICULAR YOUNG FACULTY MEMBERS..... ARE WE NOT YOUR KIDS.....
NIT faculty members were made to wait for almost an year more than UGC. Finally MHRD discovered that we are same like UGC and has given the same UGC scales.....
Various NITs made a number of memorandums.(In a dignified manner as reported by IIM)
But, not even a single time their concerns were heard, in the TWO modifications MHRD has given dated 16th and 22nd.
The pay commission was framed to attract young faculty members with PhD and to retain existing faculty.
As far as NITs are converned MHRD has done everything possible to retain existing senior faculty members.
For young faculty members, MHRD said seven non compoundable advance increment will be given for a person with PhD.
Unfortunately, we don,t know, whether our English is bad or MHRDs, the existing faculty members with PhDs are given a mere TWO increments only. The argument is that a person who is going to be recruited after this GO and who joins with a PhD only will be given 7 increments. Even if a person submits his thesis and gets his PhD the next day of joining NIT, he will be eligible for only TWO increments.
Young faculty members with PhD represented MHRD through various memorandums to keep them at 7000 AGP AT LEAST.
BUT NOTHING HAPPENED FOR THIS DIGNIFIED(AS REPORTED BY IIM)PETITIONS TILL DATE. INSTEAD WE ARE PUNISHED STILL MORE BY GIVING JUST TWO INCREMENTS.
OKAY, If we think that We will leave this institution and join another as a fresher to get atleast the SEVEN increments promised for a fresher, UGC has recently come up with another regulation saying, Discretionary award of advance increments can be given only to Asso Profs and Professors and not to a person joining fresh AS ASSISTANT PROFESSOR(6.4.19 IN REGULATION 2009).
WHY..... What wrong thing we made....Spending 5 to 10 years in various industries and institutions before joining NIT is a fault...OR Did a bit of research to get a PhD in service is a fault... WHAT WRONG THING WE MADE....
SO, U WONT GIVE US PROPER SALARY... U wont allow us to join ANOTHER INSTITUTION also peacefully....(B,COS WE WILL LOSE OUR SERVICE AND WE MAY NOT GET ADVANCE INCREMENTS OTHER THAN FOR PHD......) So, MHRD should tell us what service we should do in our existing institutes...
THOSE WHO JOINED NIT AFTER SUBMITTING THEIR THESIS AND GOT THEIR PhD IN SERVICE IN A MONTH OR TWO AFTER JOINING NIT DONT KNOW
WHETHER WE ARE A FRESH FACULTY
OR
AN EXISTING FACULTY......
WE ARE NOT PROVIDED EITHER THE BENEFITS SHOWN TO EXISTING FACULTY(SENIORS)
NOR
THE BENEFITS GIVEN TO FRESH FACULTY.....
AND WE CANT LEAVE FOR ANOTHER INSTITUTION ALSO(for the reason mentioned above)
ONLY GOD CAN SAVE US ...........
WHO WILL TALK ON BEHALF OF YOUNG FACULTY MEMBERS OF NITs
Dear Kapil Sibal Ji,
We are happy that you are trying to resolve the issues in IIT Pay scales. We saw the interview you gave to media. We are happy.
But Sir, will you spend few minutes time to look into the issues raised by Young Faculty Members of NITs ???.
We didn’t get any representation in the Pay Revision Committee. There were only professors………, professors………… and professors. They have taken care of themselves.
We are not getting any support from our faculty association also.
Because, starting from Selection Grade Lecturers, all have got PB4, Which, even the IIT Assistant Professors have not got.
The pay revision committee headed by Prof. Mehta visited IITs and they got the views of Young Faculty members of IIT. But, to the greatest surprise, they did not find time to visit even a single NIT. They did not analyze the present strength of NITs, their publication history, their sponsored research projects, their expectations, .,,,,,,,. Nothing was done and still the committee made a statement that NITs should be given the scales of UGC.
However, NIT faculty who are selection grade lecturers and above are extremely happy as they are getting PB4.
DEAR SIR,
Young faculty members of NITs are not asking for PB4. We are not asking for equal scales like IITs. We are not asking for autonomy like IIT, because within NIT itself, we don’t have autonomy.
In NIT, we don’t have an association like NIT YOUNG FACULTY ASSOCIATION to struggle for us. We are not having the support of our senior faculty colleagues also.
We have no means of representation except this blog and few e mails.
Sir, Kindly look into our issues.
You can compare our performance in terms of publication, in terms of projects, in terms of additional qualification like PhD, in terms of previous experience put in at other leading industries and institutes before joining NIT, our foreign visits, and what ever qualities you desire and you feel is existing in leading institutes like IITs and THEN PLEASE DECIDE ON OUR REQUEST. Please don’t decide based on a professor’s report done without an analysis of the nature shown above.
Again, Sir, we are not asking for IIT scales which is 38,0000 for a regular faculty position.Please don’t say that the starting scale of IIT is only 21,600, which is a contract position. We too have such positions, which we call Adhoc lecturers, and their pay being around 10,000.
ATLEAST PROVIDE 7000 AGP FOR A FACULTY WITH PHD AND AN YEAR OF EXPERIENCE TO NIT FACULTY AS YOU GIVE TO THE ENTRY LEVEL CONTRACT POSITION OF IIT.
SO, SIR, KINDLY GIVE US AN OPPORTUNITY.KINDLY DECIDE BASED ON OUR PERFORMANCE .WE STRONGLY FEEL OUR POSITION IS STRONG IN TERMS OF RESEARCH, PUBLICATION AND QUALIFICATION.
AS A LAST POINT, WE WOULD LIKE TO ADD THAT, SINCE REC BECAME NITs, THERE WAS A HUGE RACE BETWEEN NITs TO OUTPERFORM EACH OTHER AND THIS WAS THE AGENDA FOR MOST OF THE NIT DIRECTORS AND MOST OF THE NITS HAVE PERFORMED WELL WITHIN THE LAST 5 YEARS.SO, PLEASE DON’T HAVE A PRE CONCEIVED BAD IMPRESSION ABOUT OUR INSTITUTES AND PLEASE TAKE DECISIONS BASED ON FACTS.
SIR, WE DON’T HAVE STRENGTH, WE DON’T HAVE THE BACKING OF OUR ASSOCIATION. PLEASE DO THE NEEDFUL.
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