The TATA Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) has reported to dismiss, 55 faculty members and nearly 60 non-teaching staff members across its 4 campuses. The institute cited the lack of funds from the Tata Education Trust as the reason behind the dismissal of its staff.

The dismissed faculty members reported receiving an email from the officiating registrar informing them of the reason behind the decision which said that the institute tried its best to get the required grant from the Tata Education Trust for the purpose. Yet, the institute could not get an extension of the grant period from the Trust despite several official correspondences, the email read.

Key Take Takeaways from The Current Development

• Notably, over half of the teaching staff and all members of the non-teaching staff, are from the Guwahati campus.
• Among the dismissed staff, some have worked for the institute for decades. 20 teaching staff are from the Mumbai campus, 15 from Hyderabad, 14 from Guwahati, and 6 from Tuljapur.
• All affected people were on the payroll of the Tata Education Trust. The remaining teaching staff are reported to be the permanent faculty members on the UGC payroll.
• The annual contracts ended in May but the institute has asked the staff till the funding is renewed now with the current decision, they will have to fill out a no-dues form within two days. Their services would come to an end with effect from June 30.
• Reportedly, the UGC regulations in June last year, brought TISS under the central government’s purview of appointment with other deemed-to-be universities receiving over 50% of funds from the central government.

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• With the UGC guidelines, the government will have a say in the appointment process of such institutes receiving funds from the government. The decision came to bring uniformity to the university system.
• As per the UGC guidelines in July last year, the commission also targets to bring more autonomy and freedom as per the National Education Policy 2020.
• The dismissed faculty members are NET-passed PhD and are selected by a highly regarded panel of the Tata Education Trust.
• As per the reports, the institution has written to the Tata Education Trust and a committee has been formed to look into the matter with the Trust. If the grants are received, this decision can be reverted.
• Now, uncertainty looms over the conduct of the programs and courses covered by these staff members.
• As per the administration, there are plans to propose that the same faculty members work on an hourly basis to continue teaching, along with preparing a complete roster of required positions to issue advertisements for regular appointments.

Amid the current decisions, questions are raised over its connection with the UGC’ July decision but the institute has refuted such a possibility, as per the reports.