Summary
Tejaswini Ananth Kumar said the appointment of a full-term director was crucial as recruitment of teachers was stuck and the institute was suffering
The chairperson of IIEST Shibpur’s board of governors said she had passed on the IIEST teachers’ concerns about the prolonged absence of a full-term director to the Union education ministry and the appointment of a regular director was expected in March.
Tejaswini Ananth Kumar said the appointment of a full-term director was crucial as recruitment of teachers was stuck and the institute was suffering.
The teachers wrote to her last Thursday that the absence of a regular director since May 2023 had led to a stalemate on the campus.
Kumar, who assumed responsibility in July last year, said a full-term director was also required to improve the institute’s rankings.
“I have passed on the concerns that the teachers shared with me to the ministry. The process of appointing directors is pending at a few other institutes as well. The appointment of a regular director (at IIEST) is expected this month,” Kumar told Metro on Monday.
“The process of recruitment of teachers can be conducted only by a full-term director. The institute is suffering as the recruitment process could not be started,” she said.
The letter the teachers’ association emailed her last week said: “The prolonged absence of a regular director since May 2023 has led to stalemate…. Crucial administrative and academic matters are being delayed or left unresolved.”
“The faculty recruitment, which should be a continuous process and a sheer necessity at this juncture, seems to be relegated to a non-priority list. Even the faculty recruitment cycle initiated in 2019 has not been completed yet.”
The five-year tenure of Parthasarathi Chakrabarti as director ended on May 9, 2023. He has been functioning as officiating director since.
Tapendu Mandal, the secretary of the teachers’ association, said about 35 per cent of the 300-odd sanctioned teaching posts at IIEST were vacant.
Kumar said: “I have the same concern as the teachers. We are addressing the issue. We have ensured that the present director and others take on extra teaching load (in the absence of adequate teachers). But the appointment of teachers can only be done by a full-term director. We are all waiting for a new director.”
The teachers’ association also wrote to the Union education ministry on Monday. The letter said: “The delay in finalising this appointment (of a full-term director) is hindering the institute’s progress and jeopardising its standing as a premier engineering and technology institute in our country.”
The ranking exercise gives weightage to the teacher-student ratio. At present, the ratio at IIEST is 1:20.
“The education ministry wants the ratio to be 1:12. The ratio is bound to go down further as teachers are not being recruited despite a surge in student intake,” a professor said.
Kumar said: “The appointment of a director is expected to improve the institute’s ranking.”
Over the past two years, IIEST has ranked 66th in the National Institutional Ranking Framework, well below Kolkata and Jadavpur universities, which are among the top 15 institutes in the country.
Last updated on 12 Mar 2024
