By IANS,
New Delhi : The government must not dilute excellence and quality in the name of regulating the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), their faculty shot back Tuesday, hours after Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal asked them to refrain from protests.
“Don’t dilute the structure of the IITs. In the name of regulation, the government must not dilute the excellence of these institutions,” M. Thenmozhi, head of the IITs National Faculty Federation, told IANS.
“It is not about money but about quality. What we are demanding in terms of hike is less than the Goverdhan Mehta Committee suggestions. As of now, we will go by our decision of hunger strike on Thursday,” she said.
On Monday, over 1,300 teachers of the IITs decided to launch hunger strike Thursday to protest the government’s “apathy” towards their demand for a higher pay package and relaxation in teachers’ appointment rules.
Expressing his disapproval of their move, Sibal Tuesday stressed that “the faculty behavior doesn’t meet IIT standards”.
“It is not possible to say there will be no regulation as we are accountable to parliament and the people of India. We have to impose eligibility conditions,” Sibal added.
Thenmozhi said faculties are not dead against regulation but there should not be any compromise with quality. “After our meeting Monday, the federation has submitted a memorandum to the ministry Tuesday. We hope to get an official reply.”
Replying to Sibal’s argument that fresh PhDs should not be appointed as teachers on a permanent basis, she said: “When a fresh PhD is appointed in an university, he/she does not join on contract. Then why should it happen in case of the IITs? If a quality fresh PhD can produce good things, then why take him or her on contract?”
Sibal had said that a PhD holder with no teaching experience “should not be immediately absorbed into the system. If he has had two years’ teaching experience, then he can have a one-year contract and then we can absorb him. If no experience, then it’ll take him three years to be absorbed.”