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Changes in fee structure among issues likely to be taken up at IIT Council meet
Officials said the government will review the efforts taken over the last two years to fill the vacant teaching posts at IITs
Changes in fee structure, student well-being, and vacant teaching positions are among the issues likely to be discussed at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Council meeting being held on Tuesday for the first time in two years. The last such meeting was held virtually in February 2021 amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan-led council looks after the administrative, and other key affairs at the IITs. It includes directors and chairpersons of all 23 IITs and members of Parliament.
Officials familiar with the issues likely to be raised at the meeting said the IITs may take up the issue of increasing the fee. “There is a need to make some changes in the fee structure to meet the requirements for running premier institutions like IITs. Therefore, IITs may seek an increase in the fees,” said an IIT official, requesting anonymity.
The official added there will be a discussion on the well-being of students even as suicides, in particular, will not be discussed.
The death of an 18-year-old Dalit student at IIT-Bombay in February sparked allegations of caste discrimination even as the institution denied it. Police recovered a suicide note from his room and arrested a classmate named in it.
Officials said the government will review the efforts taken over the last two years to fill the vacant teaching posts at IITs. “The ministry has sent multiple letters and reminders to all higher education institutions, including IITs, to fill the vacancies. The ministry will review the measures taken so far to fill the vacant faculty positions,” a second official said, requesting anonymity.
In March, the ministry informed the Parliament that over 4,500 faculty positions were vacant across IITs.
Another IIT official, requesting anonymity, said that other topics likely to be taken up at Tuesday’s meeting include exit options for students.
In 2019, the council allowed an exit option after three years for weaker students to take a Bachelor of Science degree. The implementation of the decision was left to the IITs.
“The council may now propose an exit after two years for a diploma now. The National Education Policy 2020 also allows multiple entry and exit options,” the second official cited above said.
