Faculty forum wants outsider to be next director of IIT-K
KANPUR: The faculty forum of Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur had opposed to promote any teacher of the institution as the next director of IIT-K. A proposal in this regard was passed by the members of the forum. The teaching staff from other IITs should be given weightage for the post.
This proposal has been sent to chairman, board of governors, M Anandkrishnan for approval.
The members of the faculty forum want the level of research and education to go up further. If a teacher of IIT-Kanpur is elevated to the post of director, he would face the pressure of being junior or senior from fellow teachers. The faculty forum does not want this to happen. It wants an outsider to become next director of the institute.
Surprisingly, no one raised the issue of quality of
research in the past ten years when the premier institute lost much of
its sheen.
SG Dhande, who is presently the director of IIT-Kanpur, was earlier a teacher in the institute. He has been there for more than 10 years.
According to sources, Dhande had sour relations with several faculty members of the institute and because of that the teaching staff does not want him to get third term.
The second term of Dhande has been completed. He will continue till a new director is appointed or for a maximum period of three months. A meeting of faculty forum was held in the last week of July where a proposal was passed stating that Dhande should not be given the third term.
The forum members deliberated that an 'outsider' should be made the director. It was also deliberated that the teachers of IIT-K should also be included in selecting the director.
Indranil Mana is slated to be the new director of the institute but his name is yet to be approved by the President. After President Pranab Mukherjee's acceptance, Mana could become the next director.
In its edition of August 12, TOI had published a story regarding Mana.
IIT-K faculty forum convener CS Upadhyay said that a proposal regarding non-elevation of internal candidate (teaching staff of the institute) as the director had already been sent to the board of governors and HRD ministry.
When asked why an internal candidate should not be given chance, Upadhyay said, "If an internal candidate is exceptional, we have no objection to his elevation. Otherwise, outside candidates should be given weightage."
He expressed concern that the faculty members are being kept out of the selection process, which is not the right way. The applicant for the post of director should present his vision before the faculty members, he stressed.
"In order to bring more transparency in the selection process, the faculty members should be included in it as. Renowned institutes of the world like MIT and Cambridge University are doing that," Upadhyay added.
