IIT faculty ends standoff after Sibal says norms flexible

The standoff between the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry and the IIT faculty finally came to an end on Friday with the Ministry...

The standoff between the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry and the IIT faculty finally came to an end on Friday with the Ministry announcing that its pay notification order was in nature of norms and had enough flexibility to deviate from the existing norms in exceptional cases to promote excellence.

Sibal said the Ministry had no ideological position on the issue and this flexibility would be there across all stipulations in the pay order like in case of the 40 per cent cap on professors promotion to a higher pay grade which,he said,would be revisited when the cap was reached.

There was flexibility and possibility of relaxation of rules regarding the contract-based entry system. In case there was no faculty available for a certain course under the existing rules,relaxing them would be permissible with the approval of IIT boards,he said.

Story continues below this ad

After an hour-long meeting with the members of the All India IIT Faculty Federation (AIIFF),Sibal said all outstanding issues had been resolved in a constructive fashion.

The pay order is a set of guidelines which are norms to be followed in the normal course,but if there are exceptional cases and someones performance is over and above all norms,we will allow flexibility. There will be full flexibility with the IIT boards and IIT directors to establish criteria for excellence. The government has no intention to interfere in the IIT system, Sibal told reporters.

AIIFF president Prof M Thenmozhi welcomed the Ministers announcement. The meeting with the Minister was very cordial and we are happy with this dialogue. The Minister has said there is flexibility in the pay order system and this is a very welcome change. The other issues like the contract entry systems and how criteria for excellence can be evolved to ensure that superlative performers do not have to serve on contract for all three years will be taken up with IIT directors on Saturday, he said,adding that their agitation on the issue was off.

The AIIFF had been in a protest mode ever since the Ministry came out with the first pay notification in August this year. While the Ministry did come up with two revisions to its notification,these changes failed to satisfy the IIT faculty. The issue was resolved with the HRD Ministry offering a more flexible interpretation of the order.

Story continues below this ad

IIT directors would be meeting the IIT faculty on Saturday to sort out other issues that the faculty may have. These issues will also be discussed when the IIT Council meets later this month.

The government is very keen to work with IITs and their directors to create an eco-system that is the best in the world,to nurture the best faculty and to give enough freedom within the IIT system to do so. The faculty is happy and I have even explained to them the issues related to my public statements and that has satisfied the faculty. Still,we are keen to set up a mechanism wherein the government and faculty are on board to facilitate a smooth process of changes, Sibal said.

Expressing regret over the fact that the IIT Council had hardly met over the last few years,Sibal assured that the IIT Council would now meet frequently to ensure more communication,help develop a roadmap for taking IITs ahead as autonomous,transparent institutions and protect their levels of excellence.