IIT faculty turns to 'Gandhigiri'
By siliconindia   |   Monday, 21 September 2009, 23:17 IST   |    5 Comments
Printer Print Email Email
IIT faculty turns to 'Gandhigiri'
Bangalore: Drawing inspiration from the movie Munnabhai MBBS, the faculty of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) has taken to expressing its dissatisfaction with the centre by sending mails to the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry on a daily basis. Hundreds of faculty members of all the IITs had gone on mass casual leave earlier protesting disparities in pay package approved by the HRD Ministry under the Sixth Pay Commission. On September 16, the HRD Ministry issued a notification that deprived the IIT faculty of any immediate pay rise, and ignored their demands for enhanced allowances. The daily mail to the HRD Ministry will outline the work it does, including research, teaching and industry work. Occasional videos will also be part of this exercise. "We have decided not to accept the latest amendments. We are asking for small things which are minimum for an education institution. We will write again to the HRD ministry to reiterate our needs," said M Thenmozhi, President, IIT-Mumbai Faculty Association. Once other institutes hold their internal discussions, a joint meeting comprising IITs, IIMs and other institutes would be held over the next few days to decide the course of action. "We have to establish the fact that the faculty has exemplary capabilities," said B K Chakravarthy, Professor at IIT-Bombay. He believes that there is a communication gap between the institutes and the HRD Ministry which needs to be bridged to reach any consensus. "We are, in all of our intellectual capabilities, ahead of most scientists in the country. And the HRD ministry does not realize that the faculty at these institutions does not just teach, but also does work on a variety of platforms, including research and other avenues," added Chakravarthy.

siliconindia