Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) has dismissed 55 faculty members and close to 60 non-teaching staff across its campuses, citing funding issues from the Tata Education Trust. This decision affects half of the teaching staff and all non-teaching staff at its Guwahati campus in Assam, primarily composed of contractual employees.
The dismissed staff, some of whom served for over a decade, were informed through an email from the officiating registrar, Anil Sutar, stating that the institute failed to receive grants necessary to fund their salaries. The affected teaching staff includes 20 members from Mumbai, 15 from Hyderabad, 14 from Guwahati, and six from Tuljapur. The remaining teaching staff are permanent faculty members under the University Grants Commission (UGC) payroll.
The situation has been linked by faculty members to changes in UGC regulations, which brought TISS under central government purview last year. However, the TISS administration denies any connection between the regulatory changes and the funding crisis.
"In the event of non-receipt of approval/grant from Tata Education Trust, their services would come to an end with effect from June 30," stated the email sent to the dismissed staff.
TISS has reportedly made multiple attempts to secure grants from Tata Education Trust over the past six months but has not received confirmation on the continuation of funding. Acting Vice Chancellor Prof Manoj Tiwari mentioned plans to propose hourly-based teaching roles for affected faculty to sustain ongoing courses while preparing to advertise for regular appointments if funding is not restored.
The TISS Teachers Association held an urgent meeting to address the dismissals on Saturday. The institute administration disclosed that they have made repeated attempts over the past six months to engage with the Tata Education Trust regarding the grant issue.
Despite submitting a proposal for grant continuation, they have not received any direct communication from the Trust indicating discontinuation, nor any other feedback, posing challenges for the institute's sustainability.
"We have already reached out to the Tata Education Trust and formed a committee to pursue this matter further. If the grants are reinstated, we can revert these decisions. However, without a change in the current situation, we must explore alternative methods to maintain our educational programs," explained Acting Vice Chancellor Prof Manoj Tiwari.
To ensure continuity, the administration is considering proposals for faculty members to work on an hourly basis and is preparing a comprehensive roster of required positions to initiate advertisements for permanent appointments.