Jaipur, April 3: Students at IIT Jodhpur are boycotting classes to demand the resignation of the director, C.V.R. Murthy, whom they accuse of sacking faculty to suit his whims.
Around 700 undergraduate and 150 post-graduate students boycotted classes on Wednesday and have been protesting on the campus against Murthy, describing him as a "dictator" who has terminated the services of 17 teachers in one-and-a-half years.
The termination of Ganesh Bagler, an assistant professor in the centre for biologically inspired science system, is the immediate trigger.
Bagler was on probation and was given an extension last year. But a decision has been taken to terminate his services from April 9, 2015.
"He has appealed and the appeal is pending before the review committee," Amardeep Sharma, the public relations officer of IIT Jodhpur, said.
A petition sent by the students to the HRD ministry and the institute's board of governors said: "We feel that our institute is in very bad condition and we are facing various serious issues all due to one person - the director. Over the past one-and-a-half years, there have been many instances of dictatorship, autocracy, favouritism due to which many faculty and staff have been terminated senselessly."
PTI quoted Murthy as saying the terminations were made following due procedure. "We take the faculty on probation and get their performance reviewed by a committee, which we have no control over, on completion of one year and if the performance is not found satisfactory, either the faculty is given one more chance or services are terminated," he said. "We cannot compromise on the quality of faculty."
Murthy, who took charge in September 2013, did not answer calls from this newspaper.
Spokesperson Sharma said: "When Murthy took over, the strength was 56. Now it is 45. Seven more appointments have been made and they are likely to join in July 2015," he said. Of the 11 who have left, seven chose to quit because they got better offers, he said.
IIT Jodhpur should have a faculty strength of 90.
