Garima Singh The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) may soon introduce the tenure track system to evaluate the performance of faculty and to ‘combine academic freedom with responsibility and accountability’.

The proposal — part of the 53rd IIT council meeting — was that a faculty can be hired as an “Assistant Professor (Tenure Track)” without the mandatory post-PhD experience requirement for hiring and the performance of the faculty is to be reviewed internally after a period of three years.

“The tenure of the faculty can be reviewed after 5.5 years from the date of joining by an external committee. Depending upon the evaluation on research, teaching and service to the Institute, he/she can be taken up to the higher level (Associate Professor) or asked to leave,” the proposal said.

In few cases, the external committee can also provide a two-year extension before another review, it added.

“Currently, the faculty is appointed as an “Assistant Professor Grade-I” if he/she has three years of post-PhD experience. Also, the probation period for a faculty member is one year after which they are confirmed at the regular position without critical evaluation,” said a source.

It has been observed that despite having good credentials, a large number of faculty do not put in enough effort on research and teaching and there has been an increase in their numbers over the last few years.

The 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) has a provision in office order of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) that says “Institute should put in place a process for discontinuation of non-performers”. Among other things it was also discussed if an early exit option can be provided to educationally backward students and give a degree to them instead.

comment COMMENT NOW