IIT faculty to go on hunger strike today

Hemali Chhapia I TNN

Mumbai: Faculty members across all Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) will resort to a hunger strike on Saturday. They are protesting against the ministry of human resource development’s failure to re-examine the pay structure that was designed under the Sixth Pay Commission.

“We are extremely disappointed and hurt by the recently announced pay scales. IITs have long been regarded as pillars of excellence in higher education. Instead of giving recognition to this fact, the government has offered a pay package that is not helpful in filling the shortfall of faculty in IITs,’’ said Kishore Chatterjee, joint secretary, IIT-Bombay faculty forum.

Faculty members fear that with such “unattractive’’ pay scales, even existing staff may consider other options, “resulting in a dilution of the high standard that the IITs are maintaining today’’.

On August 23, IIT teachers from across the country had submitted a memorandum regarding their minimum expectation to the ministry. “We had also mentioned that if the government did not come up with a new notification addressing concerns of IIT faculty by September 4, we would hold a day-long fast at the premises of IIT Bombay on the Teachers’ Day, September 5. Contrary to newspaper reports that appeared on September 3, there has not been a satisfactory resolution to the problems highlighted in our memorandum,’’ added a press note from the faculty forum.

Faculty in other IITs will also see similar hunger strikes on Saturday.