It has come to light that teachers hired at coaching centres for IIT JEE who draw a salary of Rs 1 crore and more has seen an increase.
In 2015, about 13 lakh students have registered for the IIT Joint Entrance Examinations (JEE) and nearly 1.3 lakh are estimated to have been admitted for coaching classes which charge Rs 1 lakh or more, as fees.
Kota and Delhi are the hubs of IIT JEE coaching in India. The increasing competition among institutes for hiring the best talents as teachers leads to an increase in the amounts doled out as salaries to these teachers. According to a Times of India report, Kota alone has 15-20 teachers earning over Rs 1 crore.
Sources estimate there are about 2,000 teaching staff hired, of which about 600 have degrees from IIT, by coaching institutes of good repute. Ashish Arora, a consultant at Allen Career Institute, told a leading newspaper that at least 300-400 will be earning salaries in the Rs 60 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore range.
The salaries of IIT faculty members start at Rs 10 - 11 lakh per annum for professors and Rs 25 lakh per annum for deans, but within 2-5 years, teachers at coaching centers start earning in the over 1 crore band.
The average annual salary hikes at coaching institutes can be anywhere from 10% to 50% and exceptional performers also get 100% raises.
Since, there is a high demand for quality teachers and competitive salaries, many of the IIT graduates, and those who studied at these coaching centres, return to teaching. The report suggest that such institutes recruit teachers thrice a year. Teacher salaries often rise 3-4 times within 8-10 months of joining.