All India Iit Faculty Federation

All India IIT Faculty Federation

Prof.(Ms.) M.Thenmozhi [email protected] President Phone: 044-22574562,50 All India IIT Faculty Federation 9840133732

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THE 6PC FOR IIT FACULTY: A White Paper by The All India IIT Faculty Federation

28th September 2009

Why do we need this White Paper? The earlier IITs at Kharagpur, Bombay, Madras, Kanpur and Delhi were conceived of and established by the Parliament of India as “Institutes of National Importance” following Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s vision for the nation. They were designed with his vision to produce high quality human resources in the areas of Technology, Engineering, Science, and Humanities and Social Sciences, in order to make our nation self-reliant. They were also designed with his vision to engage in high quality research to provide science and technology inputs for India’s all round development. Accordingly, the IITs should be logically seen not as pure teaching or pure research institutions, but as institutions that blend teaching with research to develop that rare and elusive intellectual synergy. In any case, our country needs different types of institutions founded on different philosophies concerning knowledge, its creation, utilization, dissemination and application within and for the nation. Since the IITs and the IIT system have a special status, they are governed/regulated through the IIT Council, the corresponding apex body with the Minister of HRD serving as the Chairperson, and with the Chairpersons of the Boards of Governors (BoG) of the individual IITs and the respective Directors among others comprising the members.. In other words, the IITs are not governed/regulated by the UGC or the AICTE or any other such body, but the IIT Council. This point is important because it unambiguously reveals that the policies, structure, systems and processes concerning the direction and operations of the IITs and the IIT system should reflect their special status. It is noteworthy that India’s higher education system has several apex governing/regulatory bodies including inter alia the UGC (for general higher education), AICTE (for technical, management and specified professional education), Medical Council of India (for

medical education), Council of Architecture (for Architecture education), Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (for Accounting, Auditing education), etc., and it seems that these apex bodies are not within the purview of the same Ministry!!! Also, it is clear that different Ministries (Commerce and Industry, Agriculture, Tourism, Environment and Forests, Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, etc.) control distinctive educational institutions they promoted at various points of time. Most importantly, the IIT Council is the only apex body that enjoys the presence of the Minister as its Chairperson and a very large membership of internationally renowned intellectuals, and it seems that no other apex body of any group of sister institutions enjoys the same privilege. Given the above background, and the following developments: a) the present MHRD notifications and public statements of the concerned Honourable Minister regarding the 6th Pay Commission scales applicable to the IIT system; b) the fact that 15 (fifteen only) IITs are presently operational, with eight among them having been established only very recently under the mentorship of the earlier seven IITs; c) the massive expansion of the earlier seven IITs, in terms of a mandatory increase in student intake as well as launching additional, newer programmes across disciplines, without a corresponding increase in faculty strength; d) the impending establishment of foreign universities in our soil, for whom the operational policies are expected to be more liberal than those for the IIT system; e) the Concept Note of MHRD pronouncing the establishment of 14 (fourteen only) world-class National Universities to be developed as global Centers of Innovation; f) fulfillment of the much needed expansion in higher science education system through the establishment of the five Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER); g) the establishment of specialized Institutions of higher technical education, viz. information technology sector (IIIT), design and manufacturing sector (IIITDM), oil and natural gas sector (RGIPT), space sector (IIST), etc.; h) the Government’s intent to make IIT quality education available to everyone (who would wish for it) through a Virtual University; i) the possible establishment of Research Parks by, and in partnership with, the IITs, the first of which is ready for inauguration in IIT Madras; the new roles required of the IITs and the IIT system in India, and their future, need to be widely discussed. Obviously, the content, nature and reach of faculty duties and responsibilities must necessarily change, while demonstrating the system’s spirit of excellence even more vigorously. Are the pay scales and career paths good enough to attract the necessary number of high-quality faculty to the IIT system? The need for this White Paper, in the form of a tabular comparison, should now be obvious. The table below presents a point-by-point comparison of the myths/misconceptions (that primarily arose from reports in the print media and interviews/discussions in the electronic media) vis-à-vis the reality/facts (as per the All India IIT Faculty Federation) about specific issues that have arisen following the MHRD’s notification of the 6th Pay Commission scales for the IIT system.

ISSUE

MYTHS/MISCONCEPTIONS

REALITY/FACTS

a) It is about autonomy and money viewed together. b) It is about retaining vs. infringement on existing autonomy in deciding terms Basis of faculty discontent

“It’s about money ……… not autonomy”

Competitive Pay

Faculty members want globally competitive pay.

Working day fast

The faculty members going on one working day hunger strike is inconsistent with their dignity and diminishes the image of IITs and is “trade union” like.

Faculty attrition rate

There is virtually no attrition of faculty members in the IITs.

and conditions for faculty appointment. c) Norms/Guidelines and conditions for faculty appointments notified/mandated by bodies other than the IITs’ Boards of Governors (BoG) would violate IITs’ Acts and Statutes, viz. infringement on autonomy of IITs. So, changes in minimum criteria for appointment as faculty members and creation/abolition of posts are within the purview of the BoG. d) The IIT system seems to be systematically downgraded by policy interventions by the last few Pay Commissions. a) Pay should be domestically competitive to attract and retain top quality faculty members at all levels, and especially at the entry level of Assistant Professors. b) A comparison with Western universities or industry pay scales was never raised by AIIITFF. c) IIT Associate Professors and Professors seek a well deserved 1 to 2% overall hike (Very high? Globally competitive?) over the Gross Pay mainly to maintain the existing parity with comparable designations and scales in other Indian Institutions. a) The faculty members worked and discharged their regular duties (including teaching, academic meetings and other administrative activities) while denying themselves food for a day. So, there was NO strike. b) This manner of collectively expressing deep concern is in no way undignified and in fact enhances IITs reputation regarding discipline, restraint and commitment to duty. a) Faculty attrition rates have been low indeed, mainly because of the flexible cadre structure, which motivates faculty members to perform excellently and hope to reach the highest level in due time. b) In regards recent recruitment exercises, rejection of appointment offers has been worrisome. The rejections seem to have been influenced by the “pull” from industry/other Institutions combined with the “push” of the IIT pay scales and service conditions. c) The proposed pay scales, which alter the flexible cadre structure, will lead to higher attrition rates and rejection of appointment offers.

a) 40% limit for Professors with AGP 12000

At least 10% of the total faculty strength should be recruited at the level of Asst. Prof. on contract

Career Advancement

Engineering and Social Sciences faculty: Differences in pay? Development of research facilities

IIT Professors do not want to be evaluated. b) This is an incentive to promote excellence at the highest levels. c) This condition for IIT Professors is far less restrictive than for their counterparts in other Institutions. a) At entry level, this 10% condition will promote high quality. b) If any faculty member is hired directly as Asst. Prof. and he is not found to be good, he cannot be removed and hence he has to come through the contract route

IIT Professors are in favour of performance evaluation by academic committees appointed by the Board of Governors. This is in fact a disincentive. Some Professors among the remaining 60%, despite fulfilling the specified stringent performance norms, will have to wait until vacancies arise. There should be no such cap in any University/ Institution in India. • The cap contradicts the time-tested system practised over five decades in IITs. • Incentives, if any, should be offered outside the pay-structure. • 40% cap is a blatant infringement on the autonomy of the system. a) Entry level and career pay scales are not sufficient to attract high quality, young faculty members. This 10% condition is again an infringement on the autonomy of the IITs in regards faculty recruitment norms.

b) Faculty members in the IITs spend at least one year on probation at every

level (Asst. Prof., Assoc. Prof. and Prof.) when their appointment could be cancelled. This accounts for quality. It seems that only in IITs, faculty members should go through a contract stage of 3 years as Assistant Professor before gaining a regular/ permanent position.

An IIT faculty member can become a Professor in 6 years, while in UGC it takes about 15 years

It is a wrong comparison. • In UGC, a person with a Bachelors/Masters degree is eligible to join as a regular Assistant Professor and be eligible for promotion to the post of Professor in a minimum period of 16 years through career progression after obtaining the required additional educational qualifications while in service. • Under the proposed terms, a person takes additional 5-7 years to obtain a Ph.D., joins IIT as Asst. Prof. on contract, and then takes a minimum of 10 more years to become Professor (3 years as Asst. Prof. on contract, 3 years as Asst. Prof. and 4 years as Assoc. Prof.). • Hence, a faculty member in IIT would take a minimum of 15-17 years after Bachelor’s/Master’s degree to become Professor, while a UGC faculty member would take 16 years after Bachelor’s/Master’s – not much of a difference.

Engineering faculty demand higher salary than Social sciences faculty

IITs have uniform pay structure for their Humanities, Social Sciences, Management, Basic Sciences and Engineering faculty and no change was demanded.

IITs do not generate their own funds

IITs generate majority of funds for development of research facilities through Research Projects sponsored by MHRD, DST, DAE, ISRO, CSIR, DRDO, ARDB, etc., Alumni and foreign governments. For example, IIT Madras generated more than

Earnings through Consultancy

IIT faculty earn lakhs of rupees by consultancy and salary is only icing on the cake

Rs.65 crores during 2008-2009 for research. Only very few IIT faculty, who are experts in some sectors experiencing massive economic growth (like infrastructure), earn substantial money through consultancy, which they offer voluntarily rather than mandatorily. Many faculty members do not have sufficient opportunities for consulting because of their respective academic disciplines. Therefore all faculty members cannot be mandatorily required to earn a part of their salary through consultancy. There are two kinds of projects: a) Consultancy Projects: Only 20-25% of overall annual funds are generated through consultancy. A significant portion of the budget is earmarked for equipment and a small portion is charged as consultancy fee. While the Institutions get a fairly significant portion of consultancy fees as overheads, the faculty get only about half. b) Sponsored Research Projects: These contribute to a major part of the funds brought in by the faculty members, do not contribute to their personal income.

a) No one can possibly prepare roadmaps for winning Nobel Prizes, and more

Noble Prize

IIT faculty members should come up with a road map to produce Nobel laureates

Five Year Plan

IITs should have a Vision and set five year goal posts

so higher technical institutions in developing countries mandated to produce high quality human resources for national self-reliance and there are no Noble prizes in engineering and technology, particularly. b) Institutions producing Noble Prize winners are provided enormous flexibility and state-of-the-art research infrastructure facilities and involve limited teaching responsibilities. In contrast, IITs blend teaching with research and have fulfilled their mandate many times over by producing both high quality human resources and world-class research with limited infrastructure facilities and with limited scope for expansion. c) Many IIT faculty members have earned and continue to earn the highest respect of their peers across the world in academia and industry d) The massive impacts of IITians and the IIT system can be learnt from http://www.ibef.org/artdisplay.aspx?cat_id=391&art_id=21226 IITs do work with a vision and long term plans which are presented in print and their websites. IITs do have annual as well as medium and long-term goals. In all the IITs, the Directors evolve these through the involvement of faculty members and stakeholders.

The AIIITFF is solely and purely interested that the IIT system should shine as India’s finest example of higher technical education and research. This will be possible if and only if the IIT system is enabled to attract the finest young faculty talent at entry level, and retain the same for a period of more than three decades through imaginative and innovative academic and campus administration. In the light

of the above comparative table, the 6th Pay Commission notifications for the IITs should be revisited by the appropriate authorities towards making the IITs continue with their journey through excellence. *****