But Human Resource development minister Sibal says arm-twisting tactics won’t work.
A day after India received Unesco nod for an institute on Mahatma Gandhi, over 1,500 IIT professors across the country resorted to ‘Gandhigiri’ to demand fatter pay and promotions.
The professors stayed away from food and “punished themselves” but neither boycotted classes nor practical sessions. In the evening, they all gathered and “broke fast” with juice and fruits.
This, however, had little impact on human resource development (HRD) minister Kapil Sibal, who said though he was open to discussing their demands, he could not promise “world-class salaries” due to “lack of resources”.
The minister said he was willing to go the extra mile and provide the IIT faculty the best infrastructure the country can afford for research. But he wanted them to deliver with breakthroughs and Nobel prizes.
“I am ever willing to discuss and sort out their problems. But they must come with an open mind and a road map to make the IITs world’s best institutions. If they take two steps, I am willing to walk two miles. Let them dream for the nation and we will walk along,” Sibal said.
The IIT faculty federation, on the other hand, said it was still awaiting the HRD ministry’s response to its memorandum. “We had sought a meeting with HRD ministry representatives. But there is no response. Hence, we went ahead with our agitation,” president M Thenmozhi said.
The IIT professors are demanding a revised pay structure, removal of the HRD ministry’s 40% cap on promotions, and direct appointment of fresh PhDs to tide over the faculty crisis.
“This fight is not over a few rupees, but dignity. There should not be a cap on excellence, whether in appointment of fresh teachers or promotion of professors,” SS Murthy of IIT-Delhi said.
Sibal, however, said the professors were trying to arm-twist by going on “fast”. He was also upset that the faculty federation never gave him the opportunity to clarify his position, instead served him an “ultimatum” to sort out their problems by October 1.
“The faculty behaviour doesn’t meet IIT standards. The government has never and would never interfere in the affairs of the IITs. I can challenge, neither me nor any of my officers in the ministry have made a single call to the IITs asking them to do anything. But a steep salary is a luxury that a poor country like India, which is facing drought and recession, cannot afford,” the minister said.
“India has many constraints. We cannot afford the freedom or salaries developed countries such as the US offer. America is a four-trillion-dollar economy with 280 million people. My budget is insufficient to meet the needs of a knowledge society,” he said.
(With inputs from D Ram Raj in Chennai, Madhumita Mookerji in Kolkata
and agencies)
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