New Delhi: In a bid to end the stand-off
between the government and agitating IIT faculty protesting
anomalies in pay structure, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal has
agreed to meet the teachers on Thursday.
This comes against the backdrop of an ultimatum given by
the IIT faculty to the HRD Ministry for holding a joint
meeting of ministry representatives and teachers before
October one to resolve the issue.
The IIT faculty had gone on fast on September 24 to oppose
certain provisions in the pay structure like 40 percent cap
on promotion of professors to senior grade and contractual
appointment of Ph.D holders at the entry level.
Sibal had disapproved the agitation by the teachers and
said the ministry should not be given ultimatum for talks. He
had justified the contentious provisions saying such
conditions were aimed at promoting excellence. But the Board
of Governors of the IITs will continue to have powers to relax
norms for exceptional cases, Sibal had said.
However, as the IIT faculty stuck to their stand, the
minister agreed to meet the teachers tomorrow. The IIT faculty
has been informed about the development, the ministry said.
"We are very happy that the minister is giving us time. We
are looking forward to a positive response from the government
to our demand," All India IIT Faculty Federation president
Prof M Thenmozhi said.
The faculty is of the view that contractual appointment at
entry level will dissuade Ph.D holders from joining the elite
institutes. But Sibal said contractual appointment at entry
level is the norm world over since the new entrants do not
have teaching and research experience.
Similarly, the faculty has been opposing the 40 percent
cap on promotion, saying that such restriction would affect
the autonomy of the elite institutes. However, Sibal said
promotion to the additional grade pay is an incentive scheme
which would be given to really excellent faculty members.
Sibal has been asking the IITs to come up with a
futuristic vision plan for raising their income, academic and
research performance.
The ministry has decided to convene a meeting of IIT
Council, the highest decision making body for the IITs, this
month to take a decision on the issue of more autonomy to the
institutes. The vision plan of IITs would be discussed at the
council meeting.
Bureau Report
First Published: Thursday, October 01, 2009, 12:06