Research scholars rally for better grants

#HikeResearchFellowship gains momentum; TIFR scientists start signature campaign; to hold protest

A restrained social media campaign is calling out some eminent educational institutes for inadequate grants to research fellows. Under #HikeResearchFellowship, hundreds of students from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) have been tweeting to the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Science and Technology and University Grants Commission (UGC). Taking a leaf from this nationwide campaign, some TIFR researchers started a signature campaign last week and charted out their demands that include hike and uniformity in grants and an end to ‘fund cuts’ in research. “The last time the grants were hiked was in 2014. We were told that the grants would be revised once in four years but that hasn’t happened. So we have started a signature campaign within the institute to bring the matter to the attention of the administration,” said Dibyasankar Das, a second-year PhD scholar at TIFR and one of the campaigners. The demands will be presented to the TIFR director following a demonstration early next week outside the campus in Colaba. As per UGC norms, a Junior Research Fellow earns a stipend of Rs 25,000 a month and a Senior Research Fellow gets Rs 28,000 – both released from any of the national funding agencies. However, the salary for ‘scientific assistant’ grade employees (with a BSc degree) is Rs 45,000 at these institutes. For S R Laskar, a fifth-year PhD scholar at TIFR, a stipend of Rs 28,000 was not enough to care for his ailing father back in West Bengal. “My father had Parkinson’s disease and was paralysed. Sometimes I had to buy medicines worth thousands of rupees in a month. There was barely anything left for me,” said Laskar, adding that at times he was forced to cut back on his meals and borrow from friends. Since his father’s death in September, he has been supporting his family. When a signature campaign demanding a hike in the fellowship grants began, Laskar was one of the first to sign up. Rohini Karandikar, a PhD scholar from Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education in Govandi, became part of the campaign after she heard of the protest by research scholars at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Pune last month. She told Mirror, “There is no incentive to engage in research, given the pay is so low. Our peers, who take up jobs, are paid much better and their salaries grow by the year. Meanwhile, we struggle to make ends meet. Many drop out midway because of this pressure.” Mohammed Usman, a second-year MPhil student at TISS, has not been able to pay his fees for the past two semesters; fee for each semester is about Rs 50,000. The first generation learner from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, Usman has therefore decided not to pursue PhD and instead take up a job. “I am eligible for the Maulana Azad National Fellowship for Minority Students but haven’t received the grant in a year now; this totals to Rs 3 lakh. I haven’t told my parents about my financial situation yet,” said the 27-year-old. TIFR director Sandip Trivedi agreed that stipend for researchers needed revision. Speaking to Mirror, he said, “The salaries of government employees and scientific staff have been revised after the seventh pay commission but there hasn’t been a corresponding revision in the stipend of scholars and post-doctoral students. The institute is aware of the situation and is taking necessary steps to address the matte

Source: Mumbai Mirror, 20/11/2018