NISER wiki and NISER’s visiting faculty

NISER has a nice wiki page which has more information than its web page. Browsing through its wiki, especially the faculty list, one gets the impression that NISER has hired some young Ph.Ds as visiting faculty. I guess the visiting faculty position for the young PhDs is like a untenured position and some of them may be offered a full-time position. The current young visiting faculty are:

Physics:

Chemistry:

Mathematics:

  • Deepak K Dalai, Ph.D ISI Kolkata (2006), Post-doctoral Experience INRIA France
  • Sanjay Parui, Ph.D ISI Bangalore, Post-doctoral ISI Kolkata (2006)
  • Kamal Lochan Patra, Ph.D IIT Kanpur (2008)
  • Lingaraj Sahu, Ph.D, ISI Kolkata, ISI Bangalore

Biology:

  • Rona Banerjee, PhD 2005, Shah Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata (Note: She had enquired about NISER in Orissalinks in September 2007.)
  • Harapriya Mohapatra , University of Delhi, Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar
  • Rajendra Behera, Post doctoral experience at University of Hyderabad and IISc Bangalore

1 comment October 16th, 2008

TIFR plans campus in Hyderabad

This is an abstract from Times of India.

The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) has decided to set up its campus in the city. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to lay foundation stone for the campus soon. This will be the second campus in the country after Mumbai.

TIFR director Mustansir Barma called on chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy on October 12 and presented a proposal to set up the campus during the centenary birth year of its founder Dr Homi J Bhabha.

The TIFR, according to official sources, sought about 210 acres of land at the Hyderabad Central University (HCU) for the campus and has projected an investment of over Rs 2,500 crore over a period of 12-15 years.

NOTE: Andhra Pradesh has done excellent in attracting high quality institution of higher learning. Recently it received  IIT, WCCU (National University),  NIPER, SPA, BITS campus (private),  ISM campus (proposed),  and now a new TIFR campus with 2500 crore investment. Central University Hyderabad, IICT, CCMB and DRDO research Lab have already mentained a nationally high standard in their respective field. With all these facilties coming over, Hyderabad would emerge as top center for higher education and research in India. Like Chief Minister of AP, Orissa CM should be proactive in attracting independent institution like TIFR, BARC, DRDO, IISc, BITS etc  to establish campus in Orissa.

1 comment October 15th, 2008

Comparative Data for IITs and NITs during 2007-2008: from the MHRD 2007-08 annual report

2 comments October 12th, 2008

Layout drawings of IIIT Bhubaneswar

Site Plan

Administration Building:

Hostel:

Next phase:

 

October 9th, 2008

Orissa government issues tenders for IIIT, Parala Maharaj Engineering College and Construction Academy

In recent months the Orissa government has issued tenders for two state funded and one PPP based institute:

  • IIIT Bhubaneswar: The tender is for construction of administrative and academic building, hostel and external services to be completed in 9 months and at an estimated value of work of Rs 15 crores.
  • Parala Maharaj Engineering College in Berhampur: The tender is for construction of the College Building at Berhampur (Sitalapalli), Ground Floor and First Floor, to be completed in 15 months, and at an estimated value of work of Rs 7 crores.
  • Construction Academy in Gopalpur, Cuttack: The tender is for construction of Administrative Block (Stilt, Ground & First Floor), to be completed in 18 months, and at an estimated value of work of Rs 5.6 crores.

The tender documents are currently available via http://tendersorissa.gov.in/.

 

2 comments October 9th, 2008

Recommendation of the pay review committee of the UGC

Following is from http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=43395.

The Pay Review Committee after detailed deliberations has made the following recommendations about various aspects of revision of pay and allowances, service and working conditions of teachers, Librarians, Directors of Physical Education and other Academic Staff in colleges and universities recognized by the University Grants Commission.

I.          New Nomenclature for various teaching posts

Assistant Professor for   Lecturer

Assistant Professor (Senior Scale) for Lecturer (Senior Scale)

Assistant Professor (Selection Grade) for Lecturer (Selection Grade)

Associate Professor for Associate Professor

Senior Associate Professor     New Position

Professor for Professor

Senior Professor New Position

Professor of Eminence New Position

II.         New Scales of Pay and Allowances

EXISTING AND PROPOSED SCALES OF PAY FOR

UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGE TEACHERS

 

A. POSTS SPECIFIC TO UNIVERSITIES

 

CATEGORY

EXISTING PAY SCALE

NEW PAY BAND

GRADE PAY

1

Assistant Professor

 

8000-  275-13500

15600 – 39100

6600

2

Assistant Professor 

(Senior Scale)

10000 – 325 – 15200

15600 – 39100

7200

3

Assistant Professor

(Selection Grade)/

Associate Professor

12000 -420 – 18300

15600 – 39100

8000

4

Professor

 

16400-450-20900-500-22400

37400 – 67000

11000

5

Senior Professor

 

New Post Proposed

 37400 – 67000

12000

6

Pro-VC

 

18400—500-22400.

37400-67000

 Plus 4 Adv increments

12000

7

Professor of Eminence

New Post Proposed

80000 (fixed)

Nil

8

Vice – Chancellor

25000 (Fixed)

80000 (Fixed)

Nil

9

Librarian/Director of PE

16400-450-20900-500-22400

37400-67000

11000

10

Deputy Librarian/Deputy Director of PE

12000-420-18300

15600-39100

8000

 

11

Asstt. Librarian (Sr. Scale)/ Asstt Director of PE (Sr. Scale)

10000-15200

15600-39100

7200

12

Asstt Librarian/

Asstt Director PE/Sports Officer/Physical Instructor

8000-275-13500

15600-39100

6600

 

 

B. POSTS SPECIFIC TO COLLEGES

 

1

Assistant Professor

 

8000- 275-13500

15600 – 39100

6600

2

Assistant Professor

(Senior Scale)

10000 – 325 – 15200

15600 – 39100

7200

3

Assistant Professor

(Selection Grade)/

Associate Professor

12000 -420 – 18300

15600 – 39100

8000

4

Senior Associate Professor

New Post Proposed

37400 – 67000

 

8700

5

Professor in PG Colleges

New Post Proposed

37400 – 67000

11000

6

a. Principal of UG College

 

b. Principal of PG College

12000-18300

 

 

16400-450-20900-500-22400

37400-67000

Plus 2 Adv increments.

 

37400-67000

Plus 2 Adv increments

8700

 

 

11000

7

College Librarian /

Director of PE/

Sports Officer/ PI

8000-13500

15600-39100

6600

8

College Librarian/

Director PE (Senior Scale)

10000-15200

15600-39100

7200

9

College Librarian(S.G)/ Director of Physical Education (SG)

12000-18300

15600-39100

8000

10

*Senior College Librarian (Selection Grade)Senior College DPE (Selection Grade)

New Post Proposed

37400-67000

8700

* The eligibility condition for promotion for this position may better be decided by the UGC in consultation with the special committee heading by a Senior Professor of Library / senior professor of Physical education

 

Annual Increment

3% of the Basic Salary ( Basic Pay + Grade Pay) with compounding effect

4% of the Basic Salary(Basic Pay + Grade Pay)with compounding effect for 2 years for a select few 25% in the Pay Band Rs. 15600-39100 on the basis of better teaching and research performance.  Fresh appraisals are be made after two years.

Stagnation Removal

An incumbent after reaching the top of the scale in the pay band shall move to the next pay band without any change in the grade pay.

Increments for Higher Qualifications/ on Promotion.

 

Five advance increments instead of present four to a Ph.d degree holder at the time of recruitment as Assistant Professor.

 

Three advance increments instead of present two to an M.Phil degree holder at the time of recruitment as Assistant Professor.

 

Three advance increments to an incumbent holding M.Tech, M.D., M.S. L.L.M. degree at the time of recruitment as Assistant Professor.

 

Two advance increments to an incumbent who joins as Assistant Professor with basic M.A./MSc./M.Com etc. with NET/SET examination qualifications.

 

Two advance increments to an incumbent who joins as /Associate Professor in open selection.

 

Two advance increments to an incumbent on being promoted as /Associate Professor under CAS.

 

Three advance increments instead of present two to an in-service teacher on completing Ph.D. degree.

 

Two advance increments instead of present one to an in-service teacher on completing M.Phil degree.

 

A selection committee may recommend up to seven instead of present five advance increments to an incumbent with higher merit, better publications and more experience etc.

 

All advance increments to be given on non-compounding basis

 

Allowances

House Rent Allowance

 

30% of basic salary for Category X cities (A-1 earlier) population 50 lakhs and above)

 

20% of basic salary for Category Y cities (A, B-1, B-2 earlier) population between 5 and 50 lakhs)

 

10% of basic salary for Category Z cities (C and unclassified earlier) (population below 5 lakhs)

Transport Allowance

 

Rs. 3200/-plus DA thereon per month for A-1/A Class cities (13 notified cities)

 

Rs. 1600/- plus DA thereon per month for other Cities

 

Children’s Education Allowance (CEA)

 

Rs. 1000/- per child per month for upto a maximum of two children

 

Rs  3000/- per child per month for those residing in hostel, for upto two children.

 

However, both hostel subsidy and children education allowance cannot be availed of concurrently.

Academic Allowance

 

Rs. 1500/- per month for Assistant Professor, Assistant Professor(Senior Scale), Assistant Professor(Selection Grade)

 

Rs. 1200/- per month for Associate Professor, Senior Associate Professor, Professor and   Professor.

 

Special Compensatory (Hill Area) Allowance and Special Compensatory (Remote Locality) Allowance will be allowed as admissible to central government employees. 

 

Special (Duty) Allowance for Teachers Serving in North Eastern Region including Sikkim and Ladakh

 

The Committee recommends a Special (Duty) Allowance at the rate of 12.5% on pay plus grade pay to teachers serving in these areas as applicable to Central Government employees.  

 

Leave Travel concession

 

LTC travel to Home Town three times in a four year block, not exceeding once in a year.

 

LTC may be allowed for any place in India once in a block of four years. Thus four LTC in a block of 4 years but not exceeding one in any one year.

 

No encashing of LTC if not availed of during a block year.

 

LTC for family members may be allowed to be combined with seminars/workshops and other academic assignments being attended.

 

Modifications made by the VI Central Pay Commission as notified by the Government may be adopted for teachers as well.

Traveling Allowance

 

TA rules admissible to central Government employees wherein all those with grade pay of Rs. 5400 and above have been allowed air travel may also be extended to teachers as well. Teachers may also be allowed TA/DA as admissible from time to time to Central / State Government employees, as the case may be.

 

Medical Insurance

 

Medical Insurance for all teachers with a teacher contributing 30% of the premium and the rest to be contributed by the employer. UGC to negotiate with leading medical insurance companies to get a better all India deal.

 

Group Insurance

 

The VI Central Pay Commission recommendations of raising an employee’s contribution from Rs. 120/- to Rs. 720/- for a group insurance may be adopted for all university and college teachers throughout the country. UGC should once again negotiate with leading insurance companies to get a better deal for all institutions.

 

Consultancy

Teachers in universities and colleges should be encouraged to accept Consultancy, Directing Projects, registering patents, R&D products and technology transfers. Resources earned to be in the following manner:

Amount received upto 30% of the gross salary

(basic salary+grade pay+academic allowance) No sharing

 

Amount received beyond 30% and upto the Sharing of 

gross salary amount beyond 30% in the ratio 70% and

 30% between the teacher and the Institution

 

Amount receive beyond the gross salary 50-50 of the

amount received beyond the gross salary between the teacher and

the institution

 

This arrangement should work for five years thereafter it should be reviewed in view of future developments.

 

Superannuation, Reemployment, Pension, Provident Fund and Gratuity

 

The age of superannuation of all college and university teachers throughout India to be 65 years.

 

In the interest of students Individual teachers should however be allowed to continue as contract teachers till the end of academic session.

 

Reemployment of Teachers

 

Teachers may be reemployed selectively after superannuation on contract basis upto the age of 70 years.

 

Pension

 

Teachers should be eligible for full pension after 20 years of qualifying years .

 

UGC should take up the matter of restoring triple benefit scheme for teachers employed after 2004 with the Central Government.

 

The revised rates of family pension to the family of the deceased employee- minimum of Rs. 3500/- per month and a maximum of 30% of the highest pay in the Government of India should be extended to teachers as well.

 

Additional quantum of pension to senior pensioners and family pensioners should be allowed as notified by the Government of India.

Provident Fund

 

Teachers governed by Contributory Provident Fund should be given another chance to opt for General Provident Fund.

Gratuity

 

The upper limit of gratuity to be paid to teachers should be revised to Rs. Ten lakhs from present three and half lakhs as has been done for central Government employees by the government of India.

 

Ex-Gratia Lump sum compensation in case of Death on Duty

 

Sr. No.

Circumstances Justifying Compensation

Amount of Compensation

1

Death occurring due to accidents in the course of performance of duties.

Rs. 10 Lakhs

2

Death occurring due to accidents in the course of performance of duties attributable to acts of violence by terrorists/ anti social elements etc.

Rs. 10 Lakhs

 

 

Financial Support for implementation of the Pay Review Committee recommendations.

 

Central government to provide 100% assistance for additional expenditure for five years for implementing the recommendations of the Pay Review Committee.

 

Addition assistance to the extent of 50% for next five years for only those states that implement the recommendations successfully in toto. UGC to review the implementation in the fifth year for the additional assistance.

Implementation from a single date

 

All recommendations to be implemented in toto as a package with effect from 1.1.2006.

 

However, various allowances except DA to be admissible with effect from 1.9.2008.

Service and Working Conditions of Teachers       

 

All institutions should fill vacant positions on urgent basis.

 

All bans on recruitment of teachers imposed by states should be lifted immediately and UGC should monitor this situation.

 

UGC to make special efforts from attracting persons from socially challenged sections to teaching.

Contract Teachers

 

Teachers should be appointed on contract only if absolutely necessary and their qualifications and procedure of selection should be the same as for a regularly appointed teachers.

 

The fixed emoluments to be paid per month to a teacher on contracts should not be less than the monthly gross salary of a regularly appointed teacher.

 

Guest Teachers / Part Time Teachers

 

If there is a need for appointing a teacher as a guest teachers/part time teachers, he should be paid @ Rs. 1000/- per teachers and the total payment during a month should not exceed Rs. 25000.

 

Retired teachers could also be involved in teaching as guest teachers.

 

Eligibility Conditions for Appointment in Universities and Colleges

 

Besides the other qualifications laid down by the UGC for the post of Assistant Professor, qualifying in the NET/SET examination shall be essential for being eligible to apply for the post of Assistant Professor.

 

However, those who possess a Ph.D degree in the subject shall be exempted from the NET/SET qualifications, provided the Universities, however, carry out reforms to raise the standard of Ph.D. degrees.

 

Those possessing M. Phil degrees shall be no more exempt from qualifying the NET/SET examination.

Selection Process/ Selection Committees 


The UGC should draw up exhaustive lists of experts in each subject and put them up on their website. It should be incumbent on institutions holding selections to include at least one of the subject experts on the selection committee from this list.

 

The UGC should monitor this for compliance.

New Positions

 

Positions of Professor should be sanctioned for direct recruitment in colleges for disciplines which have post graduate teaching.

 

There should be at least one post of Professor in each of these disciplines where there is post graduate teaching.

 

The basic qualifications and the procedure for selection of Post of Professor in colleges shall be the same as for the post of Professor in a university department, chaired by the Vice-Chancellor or his nominee.

 

Position of Adjunct Professor and Concurrent Professor should be created in universities in order to encourage mobility between institutions and industry/corporate world and also between one institution and another.

 

Up to 15% of the total strength of the teaching faculty in a university may be Floating Positions for making appointments in a department where no vacancy exits.         

Promotion of Teachers through Career Advancement Scheme (CAS)

 

A new position of   Associate Professor should be created as a third avenue for promotion for college teachers under CAS.

 

A new position of Senior Professor should be created in the universities for promotion of Professors.

 

The title of Professor of Eminence may be conferred on not more than 10% of the total strength of professors in a university.

Process of Promotion of teachers under CAS

 

The process of promotion of a teacher under CAS should be started at least three months before s/he becomes eligible for promotion.

 

For College teachers, greater emphasis should be laid on class room teaching, holding tutorials, conducting examinations and evaluating answer scripts and less on research work while considering their cases for promotion under CAS.

Various Kinds of Leave admissible to teachers

 

The duration of leave admissible to teachers under FIP for pursuing a Ph.D programme may be increased from present three years( two +one) to four years (three+ one)

 

Also restricting such leave up to the age of 45 years should be removed. A teacher may be able to get this leave any time in her/his career till five years before the superannuation.

 

A teacher in a university or a college should be entitled to study leave for a span of two years to pursue an approved research project.

 

A teacher would be entitled to study leave only once in her/his career.

 

Both university and college teachers should be entitled to Sabbatical leave which should be available to any teacher for a year after six years of teaching or for a semester after three years of teaching.

 

A teacher should be entitled for sabbatical for only two years or four semesters during her/his entire career.

 

There should be no bar on a teacher getting both sabbatical and study leave against approved research projects.

 

Maternity leave may be granted to a female teacher for 180 days and twice in one’s career.

 

Paternity leave of 15 days may be granted to teacher father.

 

Child care leave for 2 years (730 days) may be granted to a female teacher.

 

Admissibility of other kinds of leave remains unchanged.

 

Teaching Workload

 

A teacher must spend five hours everyday for five days in a week in the institution for teaching, holding tutorials, guiding research or carrying out co-curricular activities.

 

The practice of dual workload—one for directly appointed teachers and another for promoted teachers—in a particular category is abolished. All teachers in a category should carry out the same workload prescribed for their category.

 

UGC must make large scale inputs to improve the infrastructure and support services for teaching and research in institutions, particularly in post graduate colleges.

Evaluation of Teachers’ performance and academic accountability

 

Multi-source evaluation—self assessment, assessment by students who have been taught a course by the teacher and assessment by the academic head/s.

 

Multiple parameters like regularity in class room teaching, holding tutorials, availability to students for consultation, participating in faculty meetings, guiding and carrying out research, and participating in other academic activities like seminars, etc should be taken into consideration while assessing a teacher’s academic accountability.

 

The assessment should be made once a year and should be made available to the teacher concerned.

 

The assessment should be placed before the selection  committee at the time of the teacher’s promotion.

 

UGC should evolve parameters relevant to universities and colleges respectively for carrying out such evaluations uniformally throughout the country.

 

Librarians and Directors of Physical Education

 

Deputy Librarians and Deputy Directors of Physical Education should be considered for promotion to Librarian and Director of Physical Education respectively under CAS.

 

The senior most Librarian and Senior most Director of Physical Education should be redesignated as Chief Librarian and Chief Director of Physical Education respectively.

 

In colleges, College Librarian (Selection Grade) and College Director of Physical Education (Selection Grade) should be eligible for promotion to Senior College Librarian (Selection Grade) / Senior College DPE (Selection Grade) six years’ service in the grade.

 

Those Sports Officers and Physical Instructors who possess qualifications equivalent to Directors of Physical Education and who have been selected against regular posts according to the procedure laid down by the UGC should be given the UGC scales and should also be redesignated as College Director of Physical Education.

 

Principals of Colleges

 

The scale of pay of a Principal of an undergraduate college should be equivalent to that of a Associate Professor. His basic pay should be fixed after granting her/him two advance increments.

 

The scale of pay of a Principal of a postgraduate college should be equivalent to that of a Professor and the basic pay should be fixed after two advance increments.

 

The essential qualifications for the post of a principal for an undergraduate college should be Ph.D. plus ten years’ teaching /research experience.

 

The essential qualifications for the post of a principal for a postgraduate college should be Ph.D plus fifteen years’ teaching/research experience.

 

Appointment and Scale of Pay of Vice Chancellor

 

Appointment of a Vice Chancellor should be made through a search-cum selection committee.

 

The Committee should, among others, hold consultations with the senior faculty of the institution.

 

The term of appointment of a Vice-Chancellor should uniformally be for five years and no person should hold the term of Vice Chancellor for more than twice altogether—whether in the same institution or elsewhere.

The scale of pay of Vice Chancellor should be Rs. 80000/-

 

A Vice-Chancellor may be allowed lump sum terminal benefit on prorata basis of Rs. 1.00 lakh for every completed year of service as Vice-Chancellor.

 

Anomalies and Non-Implemented Parts of the last PRC

 

All teachers should be given the benefits of the last pay revision w.e.f. 1.1.1996.

 

Teachers should be paid arrears of salary w.e.f. 1.1.1996.

 

Teachers who were in the scale of Associate Professor/Assistant Professor(Selection grade) on 1.1.1996 and who completed five years between 1.1.1996 and 27.7.1998 should be placed at Rs 14940/- basic.

 

Dual emoluments of Associate Professors under CAS and MPS should be abolished and all teachers should be placed in the same scale of pay of Associate Professor.

 

All teachers who are promoted as Associate Professor under CAS should be given two advance increments at the time of promotion.

 

Teachers promoted under CAS should be given the news scales of pay with effect from the date of their eligibility and not from a later date.

 

All those teachers who were promoted earlier under MPS should be considered eligible for a subsequent promotion  under CAS.

 

A teacher who has applied for an open position should not be debarred from applying for a position under CAS.

 

Other Academic Categories   

 

System Analysts who possess qualifications equivalent to that of a Assistant Professor or MCA/ M.Tech.(Computer Science or Information Tech.) should be placed in the scale of pay of Assistant Professor and be considered for promotion under CAS as has been recommended by the Committee for Librarians and DPEs.

11 comments October 3rd, 2008

Cabinet approves 12 new central universities (one in Orissa) and four upgradations

Following is the PIB report on this from http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=43391.

The Government today gave its approval for establishment of 12 new Central Universities in 12 States and taking over and conversion of 4 existing State Universities.

A new Central University is to be established in each of the twelve States, namely, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, with Central Government funding, at such location within each State as may be notified by the Central Government.

Further, the Cabinet also approved the proposal for taking over and conversion of Dr. Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya, Sagar in the State of Madhya Pradesh, Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, Bilaspur in the State of Chhattisgarh, Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, Srinagar in the State of Uttarakhand, and Goa University, Goa into Central Universities, with Central Government funding.

The Government proposes to introduce the Central Universities Bill, 2008, in Parliament during the forthcoming session.

In Orissa, the state government has proposed that this university be established in Koraput.

October 3rd, 2008

Bill to ammend IIT act (to include the new IITs) to be placed in the next parliament session

Following is an excerpt from a news report in Indiaedunews.

The Central Government will amend the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961 to make the new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) eligible to award degrees to students.

The Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2008 will be tabled in the coming session of the Parliament.

The new IITs are currently operating as registered societies and to be able to award degrees to its students, their names will have to be incorporated into the existing Act.

"A society does not have the power to award degrees to students. For the new IITs, currently operating as societies, their names will have to be incorporated into the Act", an official from the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry said.

The new IITs are coming up in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Gujarat, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. …

September 23rd, 2008

NASSCOM and MHRD tussle over the 20 new IIITs

Following are excerpts from a report in msn.com.

… Indian IT — which contributed to 5 per cent of India’s GDP — needs 2.3 million skilled staff by 2010, up 300,000 from the 2 million it employs now.

With this need in mind, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) in the 11th plan document proposed the 20 IIITs, operated through a public-private partnership.

But the HRD ministry wants control of that partnership.

The ministry’s argument: we’re providing the land, much of the money, (half of the direct) loans and other benefits like tax exemptions.

The National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom), the umbrella body for the IT sector, has proposed an independent authority to oversee the 20 IIITs to ensure autonomy, flexibility and transparency.

… “There is a question over who will run these institutes,” a source in the ministry told HT. “We want government representatives on board, as we cannot leave everything in their [industry] control. Obviously, after providing all the benefits the government cannot be pushed aside.”

Nasscom also wants deemed university status for the each institute — the IIIT set up between the Centre, state and the corporate partner.

… The Nasscom report also cautions government against “political expediency”, in fixing IIIT locations. Meaning: set them up near IT parks and companies, not in political constituencies.  ran aground.

September 22nd, 2008

Some central universities to come up earlier than the others?

The following excerpt from a news item from the statesman is confusing. It talks about MHRD starting 6 central universities. It is not clear what is happening with the other 24 proposed central universities.

The Human Resources Development (HRD) ministry has decided to allot Rs 6,200 crore to six states including West Bengal, for setting up Central universities. 

The funds would be disbursed to the respective states after the plots are identified. Funds will be provided under the eleventh five-year plan, HRD ministry officials said.  …

Other than West Bengal, universities will be set up in Karnataka, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab and Uttaranchal. These states have already identified lands for the proposed institute and have accordingly informed the HRD ministry. A senior official of the ministry said the universities are supposed to come up on 700 to 1,000 acre of land, which are easily accessible.

… The proposed residential university will lay more emphasis on courses in foreign languages such as Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Spanish and Italian. Subjects like engineering, medical science, computer science, arts and management will also be taught in the university. Students from Bangladesh, China, Nepal, Tibet and Singapore are expected to seek admission to the university. The university will also offer courses in Buddhist  philosophy, Chinese philosophy and Tibetan philosophy.

September 20th, 2008

IIT Bhubaneswar advertises for faculty positions and for registrar

The following is from http://www.iitkgp.ac.in/topfiles/bhub_ad.php. (Thanks to Saumya for the tip.)

Advertisement for Faculty Positions and Registrar of IIT Bhubaneswar

The faculty ad starts as follows:

IIT Bhubaneswar (Orissa) invites applications for faculty positions at the level of Professor, Associate Professor and Assistant Professor in the following disciplines.
Disciplines : Civil Engineering, Computer Science & Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Humanities & Social Sciences (Economics, English, Psychology)

This suggests that next year they will admit students in Computer Science, in addition to Civil, Electrical and Mechanical to which they admitted students this year.

5 comments September 18th, 2008

Applying for faculty positions at IIT Bhubaneswar

Update: See http://www.iitkgp.ac.in/topfiles/bhub_ad.php for the ad.

As per  Prof. Damodar Acharya, the director of IIT Kharagpur, the mentor school for IIT Bhubaneswar, a specific advertisement for faculty positions at IIT Bhubaneswar will be coming out soon.

Until then interested candidates are requested to send their cv to him with a cover letter saying that they would like to apply for IIT Bhubaneswar. His email address is director@iitkgp.ernet.in.

The ad will have additional details. But until the ad for IIT Bhubaneswar comes out the ad for IIT Kharagpur at http://www.iitkgp.ac.in/topfiles/faculty_top.php may be considered as a rough guideline. The salary scales will be same as that of IIT Kharagpur as well as all the other IITs. 

22 comments September 8th, 2008

Some details on the proposed 20 IIITs across the country

Following are excerpts from a report in livemint.com.

In the new IIITs, the government is actively considering a model where a majority stake goes to the private sector, while reducing the government to a minority shareholder. So, on an equity base of Rs30 crore, the government would get Rs14.90 crore maximum; and industry, Rs15.10 crore minimum.

“This is where the concept of autonomy begins. Even IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management) and IITs, which are autonomous institutes, can’t decide on fees and number of seats without government approval because they are dependent on it for grants,” said Rajdeep Sahrawat, vice-president of industry lobby group National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom), who led the drafting of the detailed project report on IIITs.

The government is also looking at a loan model, prepared by Nasscom, for IIITs to be set up as autonomous bodies, where the government would give loans to the institutes—and not grant funds—to be paid back over 10 years after a five-year moratorium.

The partners in setting up these IIITs would be the HRD ministry, the governments of the respective states where each institute will be established and industry members.

 
The committee member said it is hoping the model has no management quota. “There will be a board of governors that will decide policy matters for the institutes, and have representations from academia, industry and government,” this person said.

To further clip government interference, the board of governors at these IIITs will have just one government representative, based on the policy of “one seat per investor”.

“Each institution should have three-four industry partners, with a pedigree for research. Even the age of the people to be appointed to the governing board can’t exceed 70 years,” the member said.

With a focus on research, the new IIITs will also have a faculty-student ratio of 1:10, as in IITs. While Nasscom’s public-private partnership model for the new IIITs skips any mention of reservations for students from backward classes, a provision for merit-cum-means scholarships for the students is proposed, where an institute is granted subsidy from the government for the scholarships granted.

This, however, continues to be the toughest call for the government. “The industry wants merit to be the sole criteria, but the government would like to push through reservations, as applicable in other educational institutions. However, the IIITs would have some kind of a relaxation of marks for students from certain backward classes,” the member said.

2 comments August 29th, 2008

WCCUs to be called National Universities?

Update: See http://knowledgecommission.gov.in/downloads/documents/Letter_World_Class_Universities.pdf for National Knowledge Commission’s take on this.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Indian Express.

An all-India common entrance examination, a student-count not exceeding 12,000, the best of faculty with incentives over and above regular pay, a curriculum revised every three years, a semester system, private sector funding, vice-chancellors with at least decade-long teaching experience, collaboration with universities and institutes in India and abroad, academic creativity free from red tapism — all this and more will go into the making of 14 World Class Universities (WCUs) very shortly.

And these sweeping changes are also likely to be applied to all existing universities and 16 Central universities that have recently been approved by the Cabinet. What will change, however, is the nomenclature for the 14 WCUs. Officials say these are now likely to be christened National Universities and the related legislation will be called the National Universities Act.

The basic blueprint for the WCUs has been formulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the first round of discussions, held in New Delhi today, involved academicians, experts, officials from the Human Resource Development Ministry, UGC and Planning Commission.

“There was a very interactive discussion on the WCUs and a major viewpoint emerged. Participants felt there should be a similar legislation for all Central universities, including the 16 which just got Cabinet approval, and all existing universities. The view was that there should be no hierarchy or disparity in standards amongst universities and the reforms and changes suggested for WCUs should be applied to all universities,” an official who attended the meeting told The Indian Express.

“There were strong reservations against the term ‘world class’ and it was decided they will be called National Universities instead,” the official said.

While more discussions will follow, sources said that the UGC and HRD Ministry hope to be ready with a legislation in time for the Parliament session. …

The WCUs are envisaged as unitary universities, like JNU, without any affiliation and multi-facility based, offering subjects ranging from natural sciences, social sciences and humanities to engineering, technology and medicine among others.

Promised autonomy in matters of admission of students and standards for selection, introduction and revision of contextual and innovative curricula, opening of new campuses and new programmes, intake of students, examinations and evaluation systems, faculty recruitment and national and international collaborations, the WCUs are planned as model institutes that will stand apart from existing universities.

That getting the best of faculty is high on the agenda for these new universities is apparent as the concept paper suggest that individuals with high quality research/training experience could be invited to join the faculty even if they have not applied for the job — as is also done in JNU. The universities, the paper says, should also be allowed to develop own hiring policies and pay higher emoluments and non-salary incentives over and above regular pay scales. The blueprint also recommends that private sector funding be permitted as long as it does not compromise academic integrity and autonomy of the university.

While the UGC’s earlier draft on WCUs did not quite impress the Prime Minister’s Office — it is keenly following the ambitious project — the new concept paper is said to have been found to be more “forward looking”. The legislation will also be so worded that it does not lead to rigid bureaucratic controls that stifle quality and creativity and spell out only “what to do” instead of “how to do”.

August 24th, 2008

Lower bound of faculty payscales at IIT/IISER/NISER type institutes after the 6th pay commission

As per http://niser.iopb.res.in/careers/ the salary scale of its faculty will be:

Assistant Professor 12,000-375-16,500
Reader (F) 14,300-400-18,300
Associate Professor 16,400-450-20,000
Professor 18,400-500-22,400

 

Using the table in http://staffcorner.com/sixpc.php  [alternate1, alternate2] (and assuming Bhubaneswar is a B1 city) the revised salaries will could be as follows: (Thanks to Comment 13 for correcting me.. There is a separate UGC Committee Chaired by Prof. Chadha, which will be looking at faculty salary. In that case the following salaries should perhaps be only considerd as a lower bound.)

  • Assistant Professors starting salary (lower bound):
    Total Fixed Pay   Rs. 31208
    Dearness Allowance   (@16%)Rs. 4993
    HRA : 20% ie. 6112
    Transport Allowance : Rs. 1968
  • Readers starting salary (lower bound):
    Total Fixed Pay   Rs. 36911
    Dearness Allowance   (@16%)Rs. 5906
    HRA : 20% ie. 7229
    Transport Allowance : Rs. 1968
  • Associate Professors starting salary (lower bound):
    Total Fixed Pay   Rs. 41982
    Dearness Allowance   (@16%)Rs. 6717
    HRA : 20% ie. 8222
    Transport Allowance : Rs. 1968
  • Professors starting salary (lower bound):
    Total Fixed Pay   Rs. 59574
    Dearness Allowance   (@16%)Rs. 9532
    HRA : 20% ie. 11667
    Transport Allowance : Rs. 1968
  • Director starting salary (lower bound):
    Total Fixed Pay   Rs. 91940
    Dearness Allowance   (@16%)Rs. 14710
    HRA : 20% ie. 18006
    Transport Allowance : Rs. 369

65 comments August 18th, 2008

Gujarat plans Surakshya University and University for Forensic Science

Following is an excerpt from a report in Times of India.

Gujarat CM Narendra Modi on Friday announced formation of ‘Suraksha University’ at the function organized here to celebrate 62nd Independence Day.

Modi addressing people here after hoisting the tricolour said, "the state government has decided to form a Suraksha University. All the latest discipline regarding security will be taught to students at this university".

Modi also announced formation of University for Forensic Science, which is a major step to strengthen the use of scientific detection methods when the terrorists and criminals are using hi-tech equipments.

1 comment August 16th, 2008

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