Striving to ensure a global ranking for some of its best academic institutions, the Centre has relaxed certain norms including income criteria for granting employment visa to foreign faculty engaged by the IITs, Central Universities and centrally funded technical institutes (CFTIs).
With this, these institutes can hire faculties from abroad with a salary of USD 14,000 per annum as per the revised norms. Earlier, visa was not allowed to those who would get a salary of less than USD 25,000 per annum. “We have already informed the IITs about the relaxation in norms,” said an HRD Ministry official.
Initially, the relaxation will be given for two years up to December 31, 2015 and it will be reviewed taking into account the progress in the intake of foreign faculty. While providing the relaxation, the Home Ministry has also made it clear that norms will be available only for those recruited as teaching faculty and not for exclusive research positions in strategic areas or in strategic institutions.
None of the technical institutes of India has figured in global rankings, and the HRD Ministry together with IITs has been working on the ways to rope in foreign faculty. The new norms would also help these institutes tide over the faculty shortage to an extent. The IIT Council had a couple of years ago given the go-ahead for inducting foreign teachers up to 10 per cent of the total faculty strength.
According to a Home Ministry order, the new norms would not be available to foreign nationals coming from countries such as China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Sudan.
The National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and central universities would also be benefited from this, according to the Home Ministry order. IITs, which face up to 30 per cent faculty shortage, are willing to recruit foreign nationals on contract basis for posts of assistant professors or associate professors.
In a different issue pertaining to recent reports of foreign students admitted to IIT Kanpur facing problems in local police stations at the time of registration, sources said the HRD Ministry has taken up the matter with the “highest level” in Uttar Pradesh administration and sought Home Ministry’s intervention. As per rule, foreign students are required to get themselves registered at the local police station and FRRO within a fortnight of arrival.