Students Initiate Virtual Movement for Stipend Hike By Bharath Joshi Published: 12th July 2014 08:27 AM Last Updated: 12th July 2014 08:27 AM Email 30 BANGALORE: Research students from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have initiated the process of networking with their counterparts from premier institutes in an attempt to brew a national debate on hiking stipends for researchers. A decision to connect a large body of research scholars, student coordinators and volunteers to make it a national movement was taken at the latest IISc Students’ Council general body meeting. It was also resolved to mobilise students in various campuses for signature campaigns, candlelight vigils and peaceful marches throughout the country. The current monthly stipend for a Junior Research Fellow (JRF) is Rs 16,000 and a Senior Research Fellow (SRF) is Rs 18,000. Junior and senior fellows from Master of Engineering/Technology backgrounds get Rs 18,000 and Rs 20,000 a month, respectively. Students pursuing ME/MTech/MSc (Engg) get a scholarship of `8,000 a month. “The last stipend hike by the government was in April 2010. The decision rests with the Central government and not with any single institute or university. Hence, there is a need to connect everyone on a common platform to collectively raise our demand,” said Pankaj Jain, an integrated PhD student, molecular biology unit at IISc, who is also the academic affairs secretary of the Students’ Council. IISc students have already started networking with Indian Institutes of Technology at Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kharagpur, while they are in touch with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, National Centre for Biological Sciences and Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research. The students hope to present other issues faced by research scholars before the government. “We are not entitled to an annual dearness allowance (DA). Given the high rates of inflation, it is unreasonable that for the last four years, we have had the same pay scale,” Jain added. The students will write to the Ministry of Human Resource Development under the banner of ‘Research Scholars of India’ seeking a 50 per cent hike in stipend of JRFs to Rs 27,000 and 66 per cent for SRFs to Rs 30,000, plus annual increments on the lines of DA. Research students are both overworked and underpaid, said Anusha Jahagirdar, a JRF at the Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore. “We put in at least 12 hours a day in the laboratory and mostly work on weekends,” she added. The initiative has found support from eminent scientists. While aerospace scientist Roddam Narasimha called it ‘a wonderful idea’, National Institute of Advanced Studies Director V S Ramamurthy asked why the students are deprived of a reasonable allowance. “We have our DA increased every three months. I don’t see how researchers are any different. Why did the policymakers decide they are not entitled? I support a proportionate increase in stipends. If they live with a grudge towards society, they can’t work productively,” he said. newindianexpress/cities/bangalore/Students-Initiate-Virtual-Movement-for-Stipend-Hike/2014/07/12/article2326770.ece
Posted on: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 19:26:05 +0000