TISS takes back termination of 115 staffers after fund talks with trust
On June 28, TISS terminated services of 55 teaching and 60 non-teaching staff from its campuses across India, citing paucity of funds
The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) is withdrawing the retrenchment order of 115 faculty and non-teaching staff after assurance of funds from the Tata Education Trust, the institute said in a statement on Sunday.
On June 28, TISS terminated services of 55 teaching and 60 non-teaching staff from its campuses across India, citing paucity of funds. As many as 13 faculty members and 17 non-teaching staff were dismissed from the Guwahati campus alone, a faculty member said, declining to be named.
The sackings by the premier educational institution created a furore on social media, with questions being raised over the commitment of the Tata Group to support quality education. After discussions, the education trust has assured that resources will be made available to TISS to resolve this issue, institute registrar Narendra Mishra said.
“TET has committed to releasing funds for the salaries of TET project or programme faculty and non-teaching staff. The letter issued on June 28 addressing to all concerned TET Programme faculty and non-teaching staff is hereby withdrawn with immediate effect,” TISS said in its Sunday statement. “They are requested to continue their work, and salaries will be released as soon as the TET Support Grant is received by the institute.”
It was “crucial to clarify” that these individuals were engaged under programmes funded by the Tata Education Trust on a contractual basis for specific programme durations, the statement added.
After the June 28 dismissal letter, the Progressive Students Forum, a TISS students’ collective, stated in a social media post that the mass termination will create a significant shortage of both teaching and non-teaching staff at the institute. The students’ body had strongly condemned the move and called for remedial action.