The IIT faculty expressed happiness over its hour-long meeting with HRD Minister Kapil Sibal to discuss the contentious issues but did not announce an end to their agitation.
The minister assured them that the Board of Governors of IITs can "deviate from the existing norms in exceptional cases to promote excellence".
"All issues between IIT faculty and HRD Ministry over pay structure have been resolved. Our guidelines are just norms and there can be flexibility or relaxation in exceptional cases," Sibal told reporters after the meeting.
The minister also assured the faculty that in case of any serious problem, they can raise the issue at the IIT Council meeting through their directors. Regarding the faculty's demand for abolition of contractual appointment, he said the IIT system has the flexibility to deviate from the norms.
"Norms can be deviated from subject to certain conditions. The conditions can be laid down by the IIT directors and boards," he said.
The minister asked the faculty to resolve certain other demands by meeting their directors. The IIT faculty is meeting the IIT directors tomorrow to take up those issues.
The pay structure norms say that ten years of experience, including four years at associate professor level, is required for promotion to professor.
The faculty has been demanding flexibility in that norms so that even if a teacher has just one or two years of experience at associate professor level he can be promoted to the upper level.
The government norms say that assistant professors with three years experience are entitled for Pay Band-4. However, many teachers join this position with more than three years of experience. The faculty is demanding extra incentives for them.
The IIT faculty expressed happiness over its hour-long meeting with HRD Minister Kapil Sibal to discuss the contentious issues but did not announce an end to their agitation. The minister assured them that the Board of Governors of IITs can "deviate from the existing norms in exceptional cases to promote excellence".
"We will discuss with the directors about how they are going to implement the relaxations as assured by the ministers. We will raise the other issues, including flexibility in promotion. The federation will meet again and take the final decision on its agitational plan," Thenmozhi said.
Sibal said he has convened the meeting of IIT Council on October 19 where the futuristic vision of the IITs would be discussed.
Source : PTI and Business Standard.
2 comments :
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.
Jungle rule is 'Might is Right'. There is no place for weaks. Kapil Sibal or anybody in his ministry are not going to even overhear you. So there is no point in writing blogs here. If you have strength then fight otherwise suffer quietly. That is called democracy. Are you a vote bank? NO? Then forget about anything better for you as 'they' have forgotten you.
For IIT Teachers federation meeting Kapil Sibal itself is no less than a life time achievement so acheieving any of their demands fulfilled is nothing in comparison to the meeting itself.
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