IIT Delhi teachers go on mass casual leave

Aug. 25: The teachers at Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi (IIT-D) went on a mass casual leave on Tuesday demanding a further revision of the pay scales recently approved by the human resources development ministry. Earlier, the faculty at other IITs too held similar protests.
Though the professors and lecturers of the country’s premier technology institute boycotted classes, all of them were present in the campus, a university official said. However, the professors assembled at 3 pm in the campus and asked the government to consider their demands. Sources said that on Monday night a group of IIT-D professors met HRD minister Kapil Sibal, who gave them a patient hearing. The teachers allege that though the IITs were compared to best institutions, the salary of an assistant professor was less than that of an entry-level lecturer in universities at the current scales.