The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has issued a circular setting to rest concerns about recruitment of faculty to interdisciplinary programmes.
AICTE Member Secretary Rajive Kumar, in the circular, said that deviation in nomenclature of qualifying degree in undergraduate and postgraduate level had led to institutions sending their grievances to the council.
Although the AICTE had given flexibility to institutions in the matter of recruitment, it was coming across unnecessary litigation.
Giving an example, he said a candidate might have a B.E./B. Tech degree in Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering and M. Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering but would not be considered for recruitment to teach Electronics and Communication Engineering or Instrumentation and Control Engineering despite possessing a Ph. D degree.
The council said similar instances were noticed in many of the major disciplines in which there are relevant/ appropriate courses being offered, and graduates of these courses were being rejected by employers.
Different cases
“Since 2013, there have been a lot of difficulties for the interdisciplinary faculty members. For instance, faculty with B.E. (CSE) and M.E. (IT) are not able to work in any one of the base departments. Similarly is the case with B.E. (EEE) and M.E. (Electronics) and such. There are so many different cases like this,” said a faculty.
The AICTE had announced in 2013 that qualified persons in the same discipline alone could work in the base department. In April 2017, the council came out with another notification regarding faculty recruited in the past, permitting them to continue in their position in the same institution.
“The new announcement says that interdisciplinary faculty members recruited in the past are eligible for promotion and new recruitment also. However, during the recruitment process, it should be highlighted in the advertisement,” the faculty explained.
