Researchers demand hike in stipend
BENGALURU: As part of the nationwide research scholars’ protest on fellowship-related issues, researchers from nine premier research institutes protested in front of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) administrative building on Friday.
The students demanded an annual hike, based on inflation and cost of living. They haven’t seen a hike for the past four years, they claimed. Holding placards, they formed a human chain from the main gate to the administrative building.
The institutes included International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS), Raman Research Institute (RRI), Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Institute of Wood Science and Technology (IWST) and Bangalore University (BU).
Vivek Sharma, 28, chairman of the Student Council at IISc said, “We demand Rs 50,000 for junior research fellows pursuing PhD, from the current Rs 25,000, and Rs 56,000 for senior research fellows from the existing Rs 28,000, which has not been increased since 2014. We also want annual increments based on inflation and cost of living.”
They pointed out that some of the married researchers had the responsibility of supporting their spouses, aging parents and children. “My wife is back home and luckily, is supported by my parents. We don’t have children but some research scholars have to pay their children’s school fees, and sustenance becomes difficult with the paltry sum they get,” he added.
Students pursuing their Masters demanded Rs 22,500 from the existing Rs 12,400, which was last fixed in 2014. Undergraduate students haven’t seen a hike since 2008, and their stipend has remained Rs 5,000.
There are 4,000 research scholars in IISc alone, among who around 2,500 are pursuing their PhDs. “We have submitted our demands to the director and he agreed to forward it to the Department of Science and Technology, ministry of Human Resources Development and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. The institute’s hands are tied in this matter, we’re told. We also want timely disbursal of funds,” he said.
Gaurav Solra, 21, an undergraduate physics student, said that they get Rs 5,000 only for the first three years.
Monmun Bhasin, 26, is a Computational Biology PhD student. “I get Rs 25,000 as a junior research fellow and don’t live on campus. I have to pay rent with that money and also have medical bills as I have health issues,” she said. There was no response from the director’s office on this agitation by the students.