Kanpur says revised norms not enough

The faculty members of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-K) are disappointed over the revised notification of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) that has introduced more restrictive clauses in the appointment of bright and qualified assistant professors at the IITs.

The faculty members of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-K) are disappointed over the revised notification of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) that has introduced more restrictive clauses in the appointment of bright and qualified assistant professors at the IITs.

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In an open letter to the HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, the faculty forum at IIT-K have said that these restrictions would have serious long-term ramifications on the IIT system.

They said a mere re-designation of the post of “lecturer-cum-post doctoral fellows” to “Assistant Professor, to be recruited on contractual basis” will not attract bright fresh PhDs to the IIT system.

Faculty members pondered whether highly qualified faculty aspirants would join IIT for a salary of about Rs. 30,000 per month, when they have offers on their tables from institutes and corporations world-wide.

The faculty members also objected to putting cap of 40 per cent for professors to move to the next academic grade pay (AGP). They said that IITs already have an open selection policy in place where every promotion is based on stringent academic criteria.