IIT professors protest – to teach on empty stomach

The faculty of premier Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) all over the country will teach but on an empty stomach on September 24 in protest against the pay revision announced by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) on September 16. But their protest has not gone down well with the IIT directors who label it as an “ego issue”. The matter seems to have hit a logjam.

On September 25, a meeting between IIT faculty and directors has been called to sort out the issue. “The IIT faculty is raising ego-based issues not data-based issues. They want the moon,” one IIT director said. The All India IIT Faculty Federation (AIIITFF), however, says their protest is not about money. “There is a big misconception about our protest,” one IIT-Bombay faculty member said. In fact, the teachers point out that the pay commission recommendations have gone beyond the mandate and “infringe on the autonomy” of IITs.

“We have a flexible cadre system that cannot accept regulations on the number of people hired at any level. Specifications such as 10% of the total faculty has to be hired at the level of ‘assistant professors on contract’, only 40% of professors with six years of experience at that level can advance to the next academic grade pay (AGP), etc. go against this spirit and cannot be accepted,” AIIITFF said in a statement. “How is it about money?” one faculty member asked. But one IIT director said, “There is no way that autonomy of IITs can be affected by the government order. Every professor in IIT has enough independence.” It is also pointed out that the faculty bypassed the directors and directly approached HRD minister Kapil Sibal.

AIIITFF has also pointed out that there is an open selection policy for all advancements in career, wherein the candidates are judged on academic criteria like teaching effectiveness, sponsored/consultancy projects undertaken, masters and PhD thesis guidance, research publications and corporate responsibilities. “Those who meet the criteria advance to the next level.” There is no space for defining in advance limits to how many people can be promoted, AIIITFF said.

In a somewhat related development, the Board of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad will meet on September 25 to take a decision on the implementation of a new government order on pay structure that has been opposed by the faculty members, sources said. The IIM-A faculty council during its meeting held on Saturday had opposed the government order on pay revision and asked IIM-A director Samir Barua to delay its implementation by a month.

Source: The Times of India

Students to pay more for B-schools using CAT score

The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are laughing all the way to the bank. After hiking tuition fee for two years in a row, the premier management institutes have escalated fees for hundreds of other B-schools that use CAT (Common Admission Test) scores for admitting students. Officials of these other institutes feel the additional bill, charged to close to 150 institutes that admit students on the basis of the CAT, will eventually be passed on to applicants.

Close to 150 B-schools have signed an MoU with the IIMs to use CAT scores to admit students this year and, so for IIMs, B-school admissions are big business. Registration charges have been hiked from Rs. 75,000 to Rs. 200,000 for every B-schools that wishes to take its students on the basis of CAT scores. This translates to an earning of Rs. 3 crore (Rs. 30 million) for the IIMs but, over and above this, IIMs will also pocket Rs. 200 for letting out individual scorecards (up from Rs. 150 charged earlier).

CAT’s popularity has gone up after the HRD ministry listed it as one of the five entrance tests to determine B-school admissions (the others are XAT, ATMA, MAT and state CETs); most top-ranked B-schools now have CAT as the base test for admitting students. Departments of several universities, like the Osmania University, the University of Lucknow, the Punjab Agricultural University, the Banaras Hindu University, the Rajasthan Agricultural University and the University of Hyderabad, accept CAT scores. Some non-business management schools, like the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, National Power Training Institute and National Insurance Academy, also swear by the CAT. So CAT has been IIMs’ golden goose. An RTI response revealed that the IIMs raked in Rs 28.36 crore (Rs. 283.6 million) in 2007-08, up from Rs. 24.16 crore the previous year, from CAT.

Source: The Times of India

National Higher Education Finance Corporation proposed

In a major step aimed at attracting serious players in higher education and ensuring that existing ones do not face financial constraints for expansion, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has mooted the idea of a National Higher Education Finance Corporation (NHEFC).

Union HRD minister Kapil Sibal told India’s leading national daily, The Times of India, that such a body is needed for higher education. He said the ministry is examining the proposal and an internal note has been circulated. ‘‘It is difficult to finance new higher educational institutes through plan expenditure alone,’’ he said, adding that a final decision is yet to be taken. But sources said NHEFC could be on top of the ministry’s next 100 days’ agenda.

NHEFC, which will have an authorized share capital of Rs. 10,000 crore (Rs. 100 billion), proposes to directly finance any university duly recognized under law for its creation or improvement of infrastructure. It will grant loans and advances to any scheduled public sector bank or such other financial institutions approved by the corporation for refinancing of educational loans to students. It will also provide venture capital to a university to incubate any scientific or technological idea or product that has emerged as an outcome of any research undertaken by the university.

The proposed NHEFC will also set up an endowment and corpus management fund of higher educational institutions which can manage the endowment funds of the universities and higher educational institutions and provide a higher return than bank deposits. Aimed at philanthropy, NHEFC will directly support at concessional rate establishment of any higher educational institution that has raised at least 25% of its project cost through charitable donations or contributions.

The internal note estimates that the requirement of funds for expansion of higher education will be around Rs. 60,000 crore (Rs. 600 billion) in 2009-10 which will go up to Rs. 1,55,000 crore (Rs. 1550 billion) in 2016-17 to achieve the objective of 25% Gross Enrolment Ratio. NHEFC can be set up through an Act of Parliament or can be a professionally managed corporation under section 25 of the Companies Act.

Source: The Times of India

Screening test for foreign medical degree holders

A graduate from a premier medical school like Harvard or Johns Hopkins cannot practice in India until you clear a screening test conducted by the Medical Council of India (MCI), the Supreme Court has ruled. The screening test will also be mandatory for students who have got MBBS degrees from a country with which India has a reciprocity agreement.

Under the agreement, foreign nationals with medical degrees from their countries could practice in India without appearing in the screening test and Indians with MBBS degrees from home could practice there. But the new SC ruling has changed the rules. From now, even if an Indian student gets a medical degree from a foreign country covered under the reciprocity clause, he will have to clear the MCI’s screening test to practice in India.

At present, certain medical qualifications of UK, Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh are covered under the reciprocity clause. The worst affected would be Indian students who had made a beeline for medical colleges in Nepal after the MCI refused to recognize medical degrees from institutes in erstwhile USSR countries. Now, Indians with degrees from these countries too must clear MCI’s test.

Nepal students worst affected by SC ruling New Delhi: Indian students from colleges in Nepal will be badly affected by the SC ruling which has made screening test mandatory for students who have MBBS degrees from abroad. Dismissing their plea against the screening test, a Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices P Sathasivam and J M Panchal said, ‘‘Appellants have to appear in the screening test conducted by the National Board of Examination in terms of the Screening Test Regulations made by the MCI.’’ Accepting the argument of senior advocate Maninder Singh, who appeared on behalf of MCI, the Bench clarified that the screening test was mandatory for all Indian students who wanted to practice in India after obtaining MBBS degrees from foreign universities. ‘‘A person who is a citizen of India and obtains a medical qualification granted by any medical institution in any country outside India…shall not be entitled to be enrolled on the medical register maintained by a state medical council or to have his name entered in the Indian medical register after March 15, 2002, unless he qualifies the screening test prescribed,’’ said Justice Panchal, writing the judgment for the Bench.

The screening test applicability from March 15, 2002, was envisaged keeping in mind the fact that a large number of private agencies started sponsoring students for medical studies in institutions outside India for commercial considerations. ‘‘It was noticed that such students also included those who did not fulfil the minimum eligibility requirements for admission to medical courses in India. Serious aberrations were noticed in the standards of medical education in some foreign countries, which were not on par with standards of medical education available in India,’’ the SC said justifying its ruling. It was therefore felt necessary by Parliament to make a provision to enable MCI to conduct a screening test to satisfy the regulatory body about the adequacy of knowledge and skills acquired by citizens of India, who obtained medical qualifications from universities or medical institutions outside India.

Source: The Times of India

Pay package woes: IIT faculty to go on hunger strike

Nearly 1,500 faculty members, including professors, at the premier Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) will go on a hunger strike on September 24 to protest against the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) pay structure for centrally-funded technical institutions (CFTIs). The HRD ministry had notified the pay structure for CFTIs, including IITs and IIMs, on August 18. But IIT faculty opposed certain provisions, including 40% cap on promotion of professors to senior grade. MHRD had agreed to all their demands, including removing cap on promotions.

The IIT Faculty Federation is of the view that the government’s move would impact the autonomy and flexibility of IITs. Besides the hunger strike, the federation plans to meet with IIT directors and hold another meeting with alumni to decide on the course of action. “We will observe strike on September 24. But we will not boycott work. Classes will go on. We will protest against the pay structure that puts a number of curbs on the IIT system,” Prof. M. Thenmozhi, President of the Federation, said. The faculty federation argues that the new structure puts restriction on promotions and lacks performance-based incentives.

In the meantime, Indian Institute of Management (IIM)-Ahmedabad Board has decided to meet on September 25 to deal with the situation arising out of faculty members rejecting the MHRD’s latest order on pay structure of CFTIs. Sources in the ministry argue that all the demands made by the faculty have been addressed. “IIT directors met with the HRD Minister and expressed their satisfaction. All their demands were met,” a senior official said.

The ministry has dismissed the charge that there was an attempt at interference. “IITs and IIMs have a much better deal than their UGC counterparts. They will get in six years what a UGC appointee would in 15 years. Is it wrong to want the best as faculty,” a senior member of the ministry asked. Prof. Thenmozhi said that the federation would seek an appointment with HRD minister Kapil Sibal on the issue and submit a fresh memorandum on their demands.

Source: The Economic Times

>IIT professors protest – to teach on empty stomach

>The faculty of premier Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) all over the country will teach but on an empty stomach on September 24 in protest against the pay revision announced by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) on September 16. But their protest has not gone down well with the IIT directors who label it as an “ego issue”. The matter seems to have hit a logjam.

On September 25, a meeting between IIT faculty and directors has been called to sort out the issue. “The IIT faculty is raising ego-based issues not data-based issues. They want the moon,” one IIT director said. The All India IIT Faculty Federation (AIIITFF), however, says their protest is not about money. “There is a big misconception about our protest,” one IIT-Bombay faculty member said. In fact, the teachers point out that the pay commission recommendations have gone beyond the mandate and “infringe on the autonomy” of IITs.

“We have a flexible cadre system that cannot accept regulations on the number of people hired at any level. Specifications such as 10% of the total faculty has to be hired at the level of ‘assistant professors on contract’, only 40% of professors with six years of experience at that level can advance to the next academic grade pay (AGP), etc. go against this spirit and cannot be accepted,” AIIITFF said in a statement. “How is it about money?” one faculty member asked. But one IIT director said, “There is no way that autonomy of IITs can be affected by the government order. Every professor in IIT has enough independence.” It is also pointed out that the faculty bypassed the directors and directly approached HRD minister Kapil Sibal.

AIIITFF has also pointed out that there is an open selection policy for all advancements in career, wherein the candidates are judged on academic criteria like teaching effectiveness, sponsored/consultancy projects undertaken, masters and PhD thesis guidance, research publications and corporate responsibilities. “Those who meet the criteria advance to the next level.” There is no space for defining in advance limits to how many people can be promoted, AIIITFF said.

In a somewhat related development, the Board of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad will meet on September 25 to take a decision on the implementation of a new government order on pay structure that has been opposed by the faculty members, sources said. The IIM-A faculty council during its meeting held on Saturday had opposed the government order on pay revision and asked IIM-A director Samir Barua to delay its implementation by a month.

Source: The Times of India

IIT professors protest – to teach on empty stomach

The faculty of premier Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) all over the country will teach but on an empty stomach on September 24 in protest against the pay revision announced by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) on September 16. But their protest has not gone down well with the IIT directors who label it as an “ego issue”. The matter seems to have hit a logjam.

On September 25, a meeting between IIT faculty and directors has been called to sort out the issue. “The IIT faculty is raising ego-based issues not data-based issues. They want the moon,” one IIT director said. The All India IIT Faculty Federation (AIIITFF), however, says their protest is not about money. “There is a big misconception about our protest,” one IIT-Bombay faculty member said. In fact, the teachers point out that the pay commission recommendations have gone beyond the mandate and “infringe on the autonomy” of IITs.

“We have a flexible cadre system that cannot accept regulations on the number of people hired at any level. Specifications such as 10% of the total faculty has to be hired at the level of ‘assistant professors on contract’, only 40% of professors with six years of experience at that level can advance to the next academic grade pay (AGP), etc. go against this spirit and cannot be accepted,” AIIITFF said in a statement. “How is it about money?” one faculty member asked. But one IIT director said, “There is no way that autonomy of IITs can be affected by the government order. Every professor in IIT has enough independence.” It is also pointed out that the faculty bypassed the directors and directly approached HRD minister Kapil Sibal.

AIIITFF has also pointed out that there is an open selection policy for all advancements in career, wherein the candidates are judged on academic criteria like teaching effectiveness, sponsored/consultancy projects undertaken, masters and PhD thesis guidance, research publications and corporate responsibilities. “Those who meet the criteria advance to the next level.” There is no space for defining in advance limits to how many people can be promoted, AIIITFF said.

In a somewhat related development, the Board of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad will meet on September 25 to take a decision on the implementation of a new government order on pay structure that has been opposed by the faculty members, sources said. The IIM-A faculty council during its meeting held on Saturday had opposed the government order on pay revision and asked IIM-A director Samir Barua to delay its implementation by a month.

Source: The Times of India

Students to pay more for B-schools using CAT score

The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are laughing all the way to the bank. After hiking tuition fee for two years in a row, the premier management institutes have escalated fees for hundreds of other B-schools that use CAT (Common Admission Test) scores for admitting students. Officials of these other institutes feel the additional bill, charged to close to 150 institutes that admit students on the basis of the CAT, will eventually be passed on to applicants.

Close to 150 B-schools have signed an MoU with the IIMs to use CAT scores to admit students this year and, so for IIMs, B-school admissions are big business. Registration charges have been hiked from Rs. 75,000 to Rs. 200,000 for every B-schools that wishes to take its students on the basis of CAT scores. This translates to an earning of Rs. 3 crore (Rs. 30 million) for the IIMs but, over and above this, IIMs will also pocket Rs. 200 for letting out individual scorecards (up from Rs. 150 charged earlier).

CAT’s popularity has gone up after the HRD ministry listed it as one of the five entrance tests to determine B-school admissions (the others are XAT, ATMA, MAT and state CETs); most top-ranked B-schools now have CAT as the base test for admitting students. Departments of several universities, like the Osmania University, the University of Lucknow, the Punjab Agricultural University, the Banaras Hindu University, the Rajasthan Agricultural University and the University of Hyderabad, accept CAT scores. Some non-business management schools, like the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, National Power Training Institute and National Insurance Academy, also swear by the CAT. So CAT has been IIMs’ golden goose. An RTI response revealed that the IIMs raked in Rs 28.36 crore (Rs. 283.6 million) in 2007-08, up from Rs. 24.16 crore the previous year, from CAT.

Source: The Times of India

Students to pay more for B-schools using CAT score

The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are laughing all the way to the bank. After hiking tuition fee for two years in a row, the premier management institutes have escalated fees for hundreds of other B-schools that use CAT (Common Admission Test) scores for admitting students. Officials of these other institutes feel the additional bill, charged to close to 150 institutes that admit students on the basis of the CAT, will eventually be passed on to applicants.

Close to 150 B-schools have signed an MoU with the IIMs to use CAT scores to admit students this year and, so for IIMs, B-school admissions are big business. Registration charges have been hiked from Rs. 75,000 to Rs. 200,000 for every B-schools that wishes to take its students on the basis of CAT scores. This translates to an earning of Rs. 3 crore (Rs. 30 million) for the IIMs but, over and above this, IIMs will also pocket Rs. 200 for letting out individual scorecards (up from Rs. 150 charged earlier).

CAT’s popularity has gone up after the HRD ministry listed it as one of the five entrance tests to determine B-school admissions (the others are XAT, ATMA, MAT and state CETs); most top-ranked B-schools now have CAT as the base test for admitting students. Departments of several universities, like the Osmania University, the University of Lucknow, the Punjab Agricultural University, the Banaras Hindu University, the Rajasthan Agricultural University and the University of Hyderabad, accept CAT scores. Some non-business management schools, like the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, National Power Training Institute and National Insurance Academy, also swear by the CAT. So CAT has been IIMs’ golden goose. An RTI response revealed that the IIMs raked in Rs 28.36 crore (Rs. 283.6 million) in 2007-08, up from Rs. 24.16 crore the previous year, from CAT.

Source: The Times of India

National Higher Education Finance Corporation proposed

In a major step aimed at attracting serious players in higher education and ensuring that existing ones do not face financial constraints for expansion, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has mooted the idea of a National Higher Education Finance Corporation (NHEFC).

Union HRD minister Kapil Sibal told India’s leading national daily, The Times of India, that such a body is needed for higher education. He said the ministry is examining the proposal and an internal note has been circulated. ‘‘It is difficult to finance new higher educational institutes through plan expenditure alone,’’ he said, adding that a final decision is yet to be taken. But sources said NHEFC could be on top of the ministry’s next 100 days’ agenda.

NHEFC, which will have an authorized share capital of Rs. 10,000 crore (Rs. 100 billion), proposes to directly finance any university duly recognized under law for its creation or improvement of infrastructure. It will grant loans and advances to any scheduled public sector bank or such other financial institutions approved by the corporation for refinancing of educational loans to students. It will also provide venture capital to a university to incubate any scientific or technological idea or product that has emerged as an outcome of any research undertaken by the university.

The proposed NHEFC will also set up an endowment and corpus management fund of higher educational institutions which can manage the endowment funds of the universities and higher educational institutions and provide a higher return than bank deposits. Aimed at philanthropy, NHEFC will directly support at concessional rate establishment of any higher educational institution that has raised at least 25% of its project cost through charitable donations or contributions.

The internal note estimates that the requirement of funds for expansion of higher education will be around Rs. 60,000 crore (Rs. 600 billion) in 2009-10 which will go up to Rs. 1,55,000 crore (Rs. 1550 billion) in 2016-17 to achieve the objective of 25% Gross Enrolment Ratio. NHEFC can be set up through an Act of Parliament or can be a professionally managed corporation under section 25 of the Companies Act.

Source: The Times of India