MACP Scheme for Group B, C and D employees of IITs

MACP scheme for Group B, C & D employees of IITs.
F.No. 17-8/2009-TS.I
Government of India
Ministry of Human Resource Development
Department of Higher Education
Technical Section -I
*****

Shastri Bhawan, New DeIhi
Dated 5^th July, 2010

To
The Director,
Indian Institute of Technology,
Delhi, Bombay, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras, Roorkee and Guwahati

Subject: MACP Scheme for Group B, C and D employees of IITs.

Sir,

      I am directed to say that the Government has decided to put in place an MACP scheme for Group B, C & D employees of IITs. The salient features of the scheme will be as follows:-

(i)       MACP as introduced by Govt. of India will come into effect in IITs w.e.f. 01.09.2008 with provision for financial upgradation in the same manner as provided in the MACP of the Government of India without any modification whatsoever.

(ii)       RCPS will remain in force upto 3 1/08/2008.

(iii)       The financial upgradations already availed under RCPS would be taken into account while allowing any upgradation under MACP.

(iv)       Separately however, the IITs may consider amending their Recruitment Rules for various categories of posts to provide for vacancy based promotions. Recruitment Rules for each category of post providing for promotion at each level may be got approved by respective Boards.

(v)       Financial upgradations as per the MACP scheme will be followed and no upgradation to a Grade Pay higher than what is provided for under the MACP scheme will be allowed.

(vi)       For removal of ambiguity, if any, reference will be made to Ministry for clarification.

Yours faithfully,
(Pratima Dikshit)
Director

www.education.nic.in

IITs set up committee for incentive scheme to faculty

The IITs have set up a committee to evolve a performance-related incentive scheme (PRIS) to encourage well-performing teachers by giving them special incentives as available to ISRO scientists.

The committee, headed by IIT Madras Director Prof M S Ananth, comprises six members, including two from the IIT Faculty Federation. It is expected to submit its report by December 15, an IIT Director said.

The committee will study the existing PRIS in Indian Space Research Organisation where the scientists are rewarded with 20 to 50 per cent of their basic salary per month as incentive for their performance at organisation, department and individual levels.

"We hope the committee to submit its report before December 15. It will take into account the performance of teachers in terms of research work and publications and suggest a suitable incentive scheme," the director said.
Source: PTI

Accept pay scale, IIT federation tells members

The All India IIT Faculty Federation (AIIITFF) President M Thenmozhi today urged faculty members of all the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to accept and implement the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission.

“We have requested the faculty to accept the pay package in the interest of the entire IIT system,” Thenmozhi told reporters here after the faculty meeting at IIT Delhi today. The meeting was held to take stock of the situation after the HRD ministry met the IIT Council on October 19. The board of governors of most IITs will meet in a month’s time and the IIT faculty will meet thereafter.

Thenmozhi, however, said that the issue relating to the 40 per cent cap on promotion of professors to senior grades and the provision of contractual appointment at entry level continue to remain matters of concern.

Last month, HRD minister Kapil Sibal had assured the faculty that the government guidelines on the pay structure could be relaxed for promoting excellence. Faculty associations were unhappy about an HRD clause which said there would be a 40 per cent cap on professors who are eligible to receive higher pay after six years in the post.
Source:Business Standard

Committee to examine fee structure of IITs

A high level committee appointed by the IIT Council will revisit the fee structure as part of its mandate to assess how the revenue could be increased for the premier institutes.

The IIT Council, the apex body to decide on the issues of IITs, has set up a five-member committee headed by Atomic Energy Commission chief Anil Kakodkar for the purpose.

Students are paying Rs 50,000 per annum as tuition fee at the B.Tech courses in the IITs at present. The Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students are exempted from the tuition fee.

Besides, students pay about Rs 20,000 annually for other purposes like accommodation, alumni and admission fees.

The IIT Council, which mete here on October 19, discussed the issue against the backdrop of government starting a loan scheme with subsidised interest rate to help poor students in higher studies, sources said.

IIT faculty on their first-ever hunger strike tomorrow

With the HRD Ministry and IIT faculty refusing to budge from their respective stand, the teachers of prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology will stage a hunger strike tomorrow for the first time on the issue of pay structure.

The IIT faculty has submitted a memorandum on its charter of demands, including withdrawal of 40 per cent cap on promotion of professors to senior grade. However, the HRD Ministry has not responded to the faculty's demands.

"We had asked for a meeting with the HRD Ministry representatives on the issue. But there is no response. Hence, will go on fast tomorrow," Prof M Thenmozi told PTI.

HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, however, said the government wants to give more freedom to the elite institutes provided they come up with futuristic vision to achieve excellence.

"IITs are brand institutes. We respect them. We want to give them more freedom to achieve excellence.
Source: PTI

IIT faculty to go on hunger strike on Sep 24

Around 1,500 teachers of 13 IITs today decided to go on a hunger strike on Thursday to protest the anomalies in the recently announced pay structure.

The Faculty Federation, which met at IIT Kharagpur, decided to take the action against the pay structure that puts restriction on promotions and lacks performance-based incentives for them.

Classes at the premier institutes will, however, not be affected during the strike.

"We will observe strike on September 24. But we will not boycott work. The classes will go on. We will protest the pay structure that puts a number of curbs on the IIT's system," Prof M Thenmozhi, president of the federation, told PTI after the meeting.

IIT professors to go hunger-strike

Professors of all seven IITs in the country would observe a hunger-strike on September 24 to protest against alleged discrimination in pay-scales.

This was decided at a meeting of the professors held at IIT, Kharagpur, here today, a spokesman of the Faculty Council of the IITs said.

Although professors would go on hunger-strike, classes on that day would be held as usual.

The spokesman said the pay-scales had been made in a manner which would destroy the excellent status of the institutes and not attract the best of talent in future.
Source: PTI

IIT faculty still unhappy with revised pay package

The government today came up with a revised pay package for faculty of Centrally Funded Technical Institutions (CFTIs), including IITs, but was silent on lifting the cap on promotion of professors, triggering protest from senior teaching staff who said it would affect the autonomy of the elite institutes.

The fresh notification brought out by the HRD Ministry on the pay structure of CFTIs said that the post of lecturer-cum-post-Doctoral Fellows will be redesignated as Assistant Professors on contract.

The Ministry had brought out a notification on August 18 this year on the revision of pay of teaching and non-teaching staff of CFTIs. The notification said that maximum 40 per cent of the professors can be promoted to senior grade depending on their performance.

This provision had sparked protest among the IIT faculty which demanded lifting of any cap on their promotion.

The fresh notification is silent on the issue.

Click to view the O.M.

IIT faculty seek study compensation Years lost for PhD cited

IIT teachers have demanded financial compensation apart from their basic salaries for the years they spend in higher learning and pursuing a PhD instead of working after undergraduation.

The teachers have suggested that the compensation either be provided as a fixed monthly allowance or as a percentage of their basic salary through a scheme existing in apex scientific research organisations.

This is the first time the IITs have specifically cited the higher qualifications their teachers require to join the faculty — unlike in most universities — to argue for better pay.

This demand was partly articulated in a memorandum submitted by the All India IIT Faculty Forum — a body elected by teachers at the premier engineering schools — to the human resource development ministry on Monday.

Faculty sources confirmed that an additional document explaining this new request would be submitted to the ministry soon.

Faculty across the IITs are protesting against a new pay regime notified by the government, which snips salaries recommended by a central pay panel and ignores a slew of other incentives suggested by the panel. The Telegraph had reported the new pay regime on August 18.

The University Grants Commission allows those who have cleared a National Eligibility Test — or its state equivalents — to conditionally join university faculty if they have enrolled for a PhD, before its completion.

A PhD, however, is the minimum qualification for anyone joining the IITs at the lowest regular teaching post on offer — that of an assistant professor. IIT faculty are arguing that they should be compensated for the financial loss they suffer because of the delay in their joining the workforce.

In their memorandum, the faculty have calculated what they argue is the financial loss a youngster studying to teach at an IIT would suffer, as compared to joining a central government job.

On an average, a student takes six years — two years for postgraduation and four years for a PhD — after his undergraduation to become eligible to teach at an IIT. On the other hand, he can join the government immediately after completing his undergraduation.

During their postgraduation and PhD, scholars are paid a study allowance but this amount is significantly lower than what they could have earned if they joined the government.
Source: The Telegraph

IIT faculty expecting sepecial addditional 'Scholastic Pay' Rs 15,000 per month

For the first time in the Indian Institutes of Technogy's 50-odd years of existence, faculty members have asked the government for a special additional 'scholastic pay' of Rs 15,000 a month to compensate them for their 'low-paying' jobs.

The suggestion for this special pay was part of a memorandum that the All India IIT Faculty Federation submitted to the Ministry of Human Resources and Development on August 23, stating that the pay structure proposed is unacceptable and a threat to the IIT system.

This special pay is expected to compensate the IIT faculty members for the "notional" financial loss they incur compared to people of comparable qualifications in other sectors.

"Every other government organisation gives special incentive to its employees, except the IITs. We are resentful that the ministry has abandoned us like this," said Bhartendu Seth, president, IIT Bombay Faculty Forum and professor of mechanical engineering.

"The Govardhan Mehta Committee recognised the speciality of the premier institutions in its report, but the government reduces and undermines the status of IIT faculty members," Seth added.

The Govardhan Committee refers to a central technical education pay review panel headed by former Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, director Govardhan Mehta, set up last year to recommend salaries for all technical education teachers. The panel submitted its report to MHRD in February this year.

Based on this, the government then set up another committee to study the recommendations and make final suggestions on salaries and perks for teachers of 53 central technical educational institutions, including IITs and IIMs.

On its website, IIT Bombay stated, "As per the central pay commission, all employees of Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), Defence Research and Development Organisation have been given special additional pay ranging from about Rs 2,000 per month to about 10 per cent of basic pay as a special grant for special achievements. Premier educational institutions have not been granted any such special treatment for the highly valued brands they have created, including mentoring new IITs in a short notice."

Other key demands in the memorandum include:
A professional development allowance of Rs 300,000 (for international/national conferences, contingencies, membership fees) does not correspond with the increase in the costs, and should be increased to Rs 500,000 for a block of three years;

that the 'lecturer' position be abolished and lecturers re-designated assistant professors, at an appropriate scale;

that the recruitment of faculty with PhD degrees with less than three years of experience start with a minimum pay of Rs 30,000 and academic grade pay of Rs 8,000.

A key concern, the IITs say, is about attracting new faculty members. "If the government treats faculty members of IITs, which are institutions of international repute, like this, young and new people will not join us. The IITs are already suffering from a shortage of faculty. This could push more students to foreign shores," said Sunil Pandey, professor, mechanical engineering, and president, All India IIT Faculty Federation, IIT-Delhi.

Meanwhile, some professors who went on mass casual leave on August 21 have decided to hold classes.

Faculty members are protesting against the new pay scale, according to which the increase for assistant professors was only 40 per cent against 70 per cent provided by the University Grants Commission. Salaries of full professors, meanwhile, were raised just 10 per cent. Pay scales for IIT staff were last revised in 1999.

B K Mathur, placements chairman of IIT Kharagpur, said, "If IIT pay scales are lower then UGC pay scales, then attracting good faculty would be difficult. The professors would rather work for UGC colleges than IITs and I would not blame them for it."

Source: Business Standard

IIT professors go on mass casual leave for pay hike

Hundreds of faculty members of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) Bombay and Roorkee went on mass casual leave

Monday protesting disparities in pay. IIT Delhi professors will go on leave Tuesday.

“The pay hike given by the government is at least 30 percent less at the lower level (of faculties) and at higher level it is 40 percent less than what we had asked for. It will be difficult for us to attract good faculty members,” Saumya Mukherjee, professor at IIT-Bombay, told reporters.
Holding placards, the professors came out of the IIT-Bombay campus in a long line.

They said that to become a professor at any IIT, a student needs to have a PhD, which involves around six more years of study. This entails loss of income. Had they taken up a government job, they would have earned at least Rs.2.3 million, they claimed.
“The government is not even giving us the scholastic pay which is a compensation for the loss in earning,” said another professor from IIT-Bombay.

IIT-Roorkee director S.C. Saxena told Inditop: “There is some dissatisfaction over the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations for our pay hike. I returned from abroad Monday morning and will discuss the issue with the faculty members.”

Meanwhile, IIT-Delhi professors have said they would be going on a mass casual leave Tuesday to protest the same issue.

There was a meeting of all IITs in Chennai Sunday. The decision to protest was also discussed there but it was left to the individual organisations of faculty members to protest the way they choose.

“You know the problem with our pay hike. There is dissatisfaction among many,” M. Balakrishnan, dean of post-graduate studies at IIT-Delhi, told IANS.

Similarly, at IIT-Guwahati faculty members are likely to go on a strike some time in the near future.

“There is disparity between the salary of an assistant and associate professor at IITs. The UGC scale for central university professors is more than for us. This is a key issue. There are other anomalies as well,” IIT-Guwahati director Gautam Barua told Inditop over phone.

“After the Chennai meeting, the association sent a memorandum to the human resource development (HRD) ministry.

We expect the ministry to respond soon. As the director of my institute, I hope there will be no protest but I cannot say this with surety. Faculty association of my institute may go on strike anytime,” he added.
Source: ANI

Govt to review IIT faculty pay

With faculty from across the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT)

calling off lectures and threatening dire consequences like mass resignation, the Centre has sat up and promised to revisit the pay structure it formulated for IIT teachers.

On Friday, HRD minister Kapil Sibal said his officials would take a look at the salary offered to faculty and rework the pay structure if need be.

Sibal said the problem was that though at the entry level, IIT teachers get more salary, selection for the next promotion, unlike the UGC system where it is automatic, results in disparity. “We will look into it,” he said.

On their part, IIT professors continued their protest.

At IITMadras, faculty stayed away from classes on Friday and IIT-Bombay teachers refused to conduct lectures on Monday. The Union government recently announced pay scales for faculty at centrally-funded technical institutes but declared a salary structure lower than what was recommended by the Govardhan Mehta Committee, set up to decide pay scales for staff at central institutes.

“The pay scales are almost as much as the UGC scales. For us, equal measure is laid on our academic duties and research work. The government has not taken the hard work we put in into consideration,” said Soumyo Mukherji, secretary of the faculty forum at IIT-B.

For instance, whether a professor is employed in a state university or at the IITs, he/she is place in pay band 4, which ranges from Rs 37,400 to Rs 67,000, the only difference being that of the academic grade pay (AGP), on lines with grade pay for government employees.

While AGP for state university professors recommended by the UGC stands at Rs 10,000, the same is Rs 10,500 for those in IIT. “We are competing against American universities to attract talent. With such pay scales, we cannot expect any top rate teacher to join the IITs,” said S Bhat, president of the faculty forum.

The IITs had demanded that faculty members be given an incentive for research as well as for upgrading their professional skills, but the final announcement omitted all these recommendations.

Source: Economic Times