IIT professors make case for more flexibility

The IIT faculty managed to convince the directors and Prime Minister's principal secretary TKA Nair that without flexibility the IIT system will lose its novelty. While the directors agreed to set up two committees to look into their demands, Nair promised to convey the concerns of the faculty to PM Manmohan Singh.

After a fruitful meeting with the directors, the faculty members met Nair in the evening and told him that there is an apprehension in IITs about losing flexibility. "Flexibility has allowed IITs to achieve so many things. We should be allowed to retain that," M Thenmozhi, president of the All India IIT Faculty Federation told TOI.

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After meeting the representatives of Faculty Federation, Dhande said the recommendations of the first committee would form the basis on which a "professor will move from Rs 10,500 academic grade pay to Rs 12,000 academic grade pay". Dhande said steps would be taken to ensure that bright young people join IIT faculty. The IIT faculty has been saying that the provision for contractual appointment at the entry level will not attract young people to join the faculty. "We want to have young people. We have been attracting the best talent so far and should continue to do so," Dhande said.

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