TISS centres to stay at least for a year

Four centres at Mumbai's Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai that were at the risk of shutting down have now been granted extension for a year by the UGC.

Professor S Parasuraman, Director, TISS on Saturday said that the UGC has decided to give an extension to all the four centres at least for a year. "I met the officials at the UGC and requested them to grant an extension to all these important centres at the institute. The officials have agreed to give an extension and we are hoping to get a formal letter to this effect soon. We are happy that the UGC has decided to continue with these centres as the work they are doing is extremely important," added Parasuraman.

Four prominent centres of the institute- Advance Centre for Women's Studies, Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policies, Centre of Excellence for Human Rights Education and the School of Law, Rights and Constitutional Governance had come under the scanner after over 25 faculty members who were a part of these centres were served termination notices on March 24, as the UGC had not extended their tenure which ended on March 31. The UGC on Wednesday issued a public notice announcing that all its existing schemes whose funding ends on March 31, 2017, which these centres are a part of, would be extended.

Parasuraman said that while the centres are safe from now, what happens to the faculty is still not clear. He added that there would be a formal review process of these centres in the next few months. "The UGC would conduct a review of all the centres that are a part of its plan schemes. While we are hoping that all the faculty members are taken back, it would only be clear once the UGC communicates it to us" he said.

Meanwhile, the faculty members have been relieved from their duties on March 31.