TISS: 115 contract teachers, other staff can stay till March 2026; Tata Group will fund salaries

MUMBAI: In a relief to around 115 contractual staffers at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), the Tata Group has agreed to fund their salaries until March 2026.

A source at the premier institute said that the Tata Education Trust (TET) has pledged additional money to support the teachers and non-teaching staff for another year. The development came after TISS officials met with the trust's office bearers, requesting them to extend the contracts of the employees associated with the programmes funded by TET.

The employees, including 55 faculty-members and 60 non-teaching staff spread across TISS' four campuses in Mumbai, Guwahati, Tuljapur and Hyderabad, have been facing uncertainty over their services since the central government in 2023 took over the reins of the deemed-to-be university from Tatas, who had set up and managed the institute since 1936.

Also read Analysis: What the new UGC regulations on recruitment mean for academics, from assistant professor to VC

TISS Mumbai: Fund shortage, terminations

In June last year, TISS sent termination letters to these staffers, some of whom have been working at TISS since 2008, citing a paucity of funds to pay their salaries. TISS reinstated them two days later after TET agreed to pay around Rs 5 crore, as the final Rs 22 crore aid committed for the academic programmes for which these staff members are working. While the money was expected to last only a semester, the institute had extended the temporary staff's contracts till March this year.

The Centre, in 2023, had decided to bring all institutions that receive over 50% government funds under its jurisdiction, including TISS. Under a new Memorandum of Association (MoA) and revised rules, an executive council has replaced the TISS governing board.

The union education minister now holds the post of chairman of the TISS Society, which facilitates the functioning of the institute. Until now, the post belonged to a representative from Tata Trusts. The number of Tata representatives in the TISS Society has also been brought down from two to one.

Also read Draft UGC regulations lift cap on contract teacher hiring, tighten control on VC appointments

Last year, the institute got former University Grants Commission (UGC) chairman DP Singh as its first chancellor. However, TISS has been working without a full-time vice chancellor since Shalini Bharat's term as the head of the institute ended in September 2024. Last month, a search-cum-selection committee interviewed 10 candidates for the post, but no appointment has been made so far.

TISS ‘self-sustainance plan'

Since the re-hiring of the staff, TISS has been working on a 'self-sustainance plan', which would allow it to generate resources to continue the services of the staff members. The authorities have urged the faculty at all the academic departments to identify and create courses that will have demand in the market, so that the income generated from the tuition fees of these courses could be used to pay the emoluments of contractual staff.

The institute has also assured the staffers that they will be hired in permanent positions in the future, provided they have the necessary qualifications.

However, the current and former TISS students as well as academicians across the country have been critical of the TISS administration and the government for their handling of the situation. They have asked for more clarity on the future of temporary staff members.