Opinion Lest IITs go the Air India way

The Indian Institutes of Technology ( IITs) are undoubtedly crown jewels in India’s system of higher education. Their contribution to making India largely self-reliant in top-notch manpower needs in diverse areas of engineering in the pre-liberalisation era,and to India’s emergence as a powerhouse in the knowledge economy in the era of liberalisation and globalisation is […]

September 27, 2009 02:39 AM IST First published on: Sep 27, 2009 at 02:39 AM IST

The Indian Institutes of Technology ( IITs) are undoubtedly crown jewels in India’s system of higher education. Their contribution to making India largely self-reliant in top-notch manpower needs in diverse areas of engineering in the pre-liberalisation era,and to India’s emergence as a powerhouse in the knowledge economy in the era of liberalisation and globalisation is uncontestable. Even IITians who went abroad in large numbers have served the motherland in their own ways by achieving excellence in their professions and thus enhancing India’s prestige globally.

With India beginning to offer better opportunities than before for the flowering of their talent,many of them are either returning home or supporting technology-driven ventures here,thus transforming “brain drain” into “brain gain”. True,IITs have many shortcomings. But none can deny their potential to address unmet expectations and to make India more proud. Which is why,there is a clamor for more of them to be set up. And the UPA government deserves kudos for its decision to establish nine new IITs,adding to the earlier bouquet of seven.

Given the enormous prestige they enjoy,it was disconcerting to know that over 1,500 IIT teachers went on a one-day hunger strike last week. As an alumnus of IIT Bombay,I was both puzzled and perturbed by their unprecedented protest action. However,after speaking to several retired and current professors,I am convinced that the teachers’ case is more than half justified.

Two sets of issues are agitating the IIT faculty. One is related to the pay of new entrants. Contrary to public perception,IIT teachers are not very highly paid. The starting salary of an assistant professor with a PhD is a mere

Rs 26,000. Only a quarter of the teachers,mostly at senior levels,earn more through institute-approved consultancy services. But the gap between their salaries and perks,and what similarly qualified professionals earn in industry and in some privately run technology institutes is considerable—and steadily widening. Therefore,if IITs have to attract and retain top-quality teaching talent,their compensation package has to be higher.

But pay-related issues are not bothering faculty members (many of whom have sacrificed lucrative options in India and abroad to be in the teaching profession) as much as the fear of erosion of the IITs’ autonomy. They have well-grounded concerns that the newly issued diktats of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) would “adversely affect the ethos and culture of our institutes” and undermine their mission to achieve higher levels of institutional excellence. For example,the MHRD wants 10 per cent of the total faculty to be hired at the level of assistant professors “on contract”,at salaries lower than permanent positions.

At a time when IITs are already facing severe shortage of suitably qualified teachers and finding it difficult to attract new ones,the new regulation is a huge disincentive for bright young Ph.Ds to choose this option. Another example: MHRD has ordered that only 40 per cent of professors with six years of experience can advance to the next academic grade pay level within the same post,and also that one should be associate professor for at least four years within IITs and specified institutions to be considered for the post of professor. This severely dents the IITs’ existing flexible cadre system. Anybody worthy of a promotion can hope to get it and does not have to wait for a vacancy. The criteria for selection and career advancement are stringent and the process is above board.

The moot question is: why should the mandarins in the MHRD be laying down rules and regulations on how IITs should be run? Hasn’t the IIT system,after five decades of successful evolution,become mature enough for the directors,deans and senior faculty members to manage the institution’s academic,administrative and financial affairs on their own? Unfortunately,bureaucrats in New Delhi,with some good exceptions,think that they know everything and should control everything.

This kind of mindset,coupled with political interference,has done immense harm to once-great institutions like Air India and Doordarshan. It won’t be surprising if IITs and IIMs go the same way after a couple of decades,if their already-limited autonomy is further jeopardised.

Strangely,the ministry’s new norms run contrary to what Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had said,while inaugurating PanIIT 2008,the three-day global conference of IIT alumni in December last year: “There are many reasons for the success of the IIT system. Among the most important is their autonomy,and I am firmly of the view that the IITs,like all other institutions of excellence,need to function in a more autonomous manner.” Infosys chief mentor N R Narayana Murthy,one of the most famous IIT alumni,made the same point last month while inaugurating the golden jubilee celebrations of IIT Kanpur,his alma mater.

Kapil Sibal,the new HRD minister,is one of the brightest members of Dr Singh’s post-election cabinet. He is trying to introduce new ideas and impart new dynamism into a ministry that,unfortunately,remained impervious to the philosophy of reforms under his two predecessors. The MHRD and regulatory bodies in the field of education still remain bastions of the licence-permit-quota raj. Sibal must de-bureaucratise the ministry’s functioning,which is solely responsible for the fact that very few Indian universities and centres of higher learning rank among the best in the world. He has a golden opportunity to unshackle the higher education establishment in India and empower it to achieve ambitious national goals. Here are a few suggestions.

Self-governance is the norm followed by all the world-class universities,technology and management institutes,and other centres of higher learning abroad. Government should only provide funds,lay down norms for accountability and strict adherence to the social justice principle,set high benchmarks for timebound progress,and leave institutional governance entirely to the boards or senates of IITs,IIMs,NITs,universities,etc. For the purpose of evolving this new self-governance model,Sibal should initiate a serious dialogue with important stakeholders: eminent educationists,retired and current teachers,industry leaders and public figures who have served on the boards of educational institutions,and their alumni. The last category,in particular,can partner with the government in incredible ways. Look at the hyperactive Pan-IIT fraternity in India and abroad. It has shown itself to be ever ready to support the IITs not only financially but also by facilitating alliances with prestigious institutions around the world and importing best governance practices from them.

One of the chief objectives of this reform should be to develop a large number of new leaders in the education field,who will have the requisite competence,unfettered operational freedom and the fire in their belly to enable India to make the kind of breathtaking strides that China is making in higher education.

sudheenkulkarni@gmail.com