Tata Trusts gives out ₹5cr grant for TISS pay, projects

Mumbai: Tata Trusts released an over Rs 5 crore grant for Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) on Monday towards salaries and projects supported by the trust. TOI had reported that the trust had promised to release the balance grant as charity.
Even as uncertainty looms over the regularisation of the 115 teaching and non-teaching staff funded by the trust till date, in their first statement after the controversy over the mass termination notices, the TISS Teachers’ Association has sought a holistic roadmap from the institute’s administration.
While the termination notices were withdrawn on Sunday following an assurance from the trust, the teachers said it is a short-term or temporary relief and there is no clarity on the way ahead.
Sources from Tata Trusts told TOI that the trust will no longer support TISS, as it does not come under its management since June 2023 and they believe in backing social projects where they will have a say.
TISS Teachers’ Association’s statement said the termination notices issued to their colleagues from the Advanced Centre for Women Studies have still not been recalled. These staff members, three teaching and one non-teaching, have not received salaries since March, they added.
“As a UGC/Government of India scheme, there is a regular delay in receipt of grants. Under the circumstances, such letters of termination should not have been issued to them,” mentioned the letter, seeking a retraction of their termination notices.
An institute official said the administration is sympathetic towards affected teaching and non-teaching staff and is working on sustainable plans to help them with a long-term solution within union govt’s framework. The current administration also helped in getting arrears for non-teaching staff as per seventh pay commission, said the official.
The teachers have raised concerns over affected staff members being called ‘project’ staff. “We clarify that our colleagues under Tata Trusts’ positions are integral members of our schools and centres, appointed through a proper selection process and engaged through contracts and have been contributing to the core teaching and educational activities of the institute, in many cases for more than a decade,” they said in the statement.