Kapil Sibal rules out salary hike for IIT faculty

To set up two central varsities in J&K, no IIM.

Not buckling under pressure despite the one-day fast by faculty members of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has ruled out any salary increase for the IIT professors.

However, Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said his ministry was open to discussing other demands of the IIT faculty, including ticklish issues like autonomy.

“We will be too happy to discuss anything. I am ready to give them any autonomy they want as, anyway, the ministry has never interfered in their functioning. The issue is not of autonomy but of money and because we are funding them, they need to understand that there is a resource constraint,” Sibal told reporters here today.

He explained that unlike the developed countries that pay world-class salaries to their professors, India is a developing country and it would not be fair if the professors were paid more and other people were paid less.

“I am meeting some people from IITs and will ask them for a roadmap for the autonomy. If they tell us how much money from private investors they can get for the next five years, then we will give them more autonomy. They can take more projects and become private,” he added.

The IIT teachers across the country are also demanding withdrawal of a per cent cap for the promotion of professors and abolition of contractual postings at the entry stage. Justifying the cap, Sibal said it was an incentive and would not remain so if the benefits were extended to all.

Meanwhile, the MHRD has decided to set up two central universities in Jammu and Kashmir but has dropped the proposal of setting up an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) there. “As a special dispensation and keeping in view the regional aspirations of the state, the government decided to set up two central universities in J&K that will offer distinct courses in emerging areas of nano-technology, biotechnology and information technology. Given the resource constraint and demand for a second university, the money for an IIM will be diverted to the central university,” said Sibal.

The central university for Jammu and Kashmir was created along with 15 other universities under the Central University Act, 2009. However, the institute ran into trouble after both the regions of Jammu and Kashmir fought over the location. The government will also bring an amendment to the Act for setting up of the additional university for Jammu and Kashmir.