[At sl. no I, II & III are reproduced three news stories by the ToI in chronological order. At sl. no. IV a report by the IE, and, lastly, at V, a write-up by a student.
The first ToI report datelined March 20 is titled: 'TISS suppressing panel review report critical of institute? The second one, datelined March 21: ''TISS director resigns over issue of review panel report'. The latest one, datelined March 22: 'TISS director didn't resign, just said so in a huff'. While it is utterly irresponsible, and unbecoming of the self-proclaimed "leader", to announce the resignation of the Director of the TISS and use it as the headline without carrying out due diligence in this regard; there are even more sinister aspects to this series of reports. The first report is headlined: TISS suppressing panel review report critical of institute? And, the third report concedes, at its tail end, in an utterly twisted manner: "at no point did TOI say that the draft report had been submitted to the institute. It had been submitted to the committee members." So, first of all, it's only a draft report - there is no "final" report as yet, and, then again, it has not even been submitted to the TISS. ***The question that evidently arises that how does one "suppress" a report, "draft" or whatever, which has not even been submitted to it!? And, then you go on to proudly proclaim in a headline that because of the report of "suppression" the TISS Director has resigned!*** ***So, the more fundamental issue that haunts one's mind is that what triggered this hate campaign against a premier academic - social science - institute especially known for promoting liberal values? That's a pretty disturbing question. Is it just a part of a general pattern?***] I/V. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/TISS-suppressing-panel-review-report-critical-of-institute/articleshow/46982451.cms TISS suppressing panel review report critical of institute? Anahita Mukherji, TNN | Apr 20, 2015, 06.28AM IST MUMBAI: An academic review committee report on the functioning of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), one of India's most prestigious social science institutions, has yet to see the light of day, nearly a year after the committee met for the last time. There are fears that the report may be suppressed as it is believed to be critical of the institution. TISS, though, insists that it will be out soon. The committee drafting the report, which studied all four campuses of the institution__Mumbai, Tuljapur, Hyderabad and Guwhati, comprised senior academicians from reputed universities across India. "We had our last meeting in July 2014. We were paid Rs 5,000 a day while working on the report, which would work out to an average of Rs 60,000 per person over the course of the review. We were put up in five star hotels while at outstation campuses. Why did TISS spend so much on us if they don't want to publish our report?" asks one of the committee members, speaking to TOI on the condition of anonymity. While TISS initiated the academic review committee, the committee member feels the institution may not be inclined to publish it, as many of the findings are critical of TISS. "Ten years ago, TISS had two campuses, Mumbai and Tuljapur. Now they have four campuses. Earlier, the institution had only two schools with eight research centres. Now it has 10 schools and over 30 research centres. The expansion has been phenomenal, but has occurred too suddenly and too frequently, in the absence of adequate infrastructure. In some campuses, the library is overcrowded and students have no place to study. Often four students are crammed in a hostel room for two. In one instance, a student fell off the top of a bunk bed in the absence of railings," says the review committee member. The committee also dealt with funding. "TISS gets its funding from both the Tata Trust and the University Grants Commission (UGC). The rapid expansion resulted in a need for more teaching posts than UGC could sanction across campuses, with the result that many of the posts were funded by the Tata Trust with the hope that eventually UGC would sanction the posts," says the member, who goes on to add that, as funds diminished, there was re-appropriation of funds from one head to another, with money meant for student scholarships used instead for teachers' salaries. Reserved category students were also not getting the scholarship money allotted to them. "We submitted a 35-page draft report in July 2014," he added. A source close to the institution told TOI that the final copy of the report has not yet been prepared. However, TISS director S Parasuraman told TOI the report would be out by the end of the month, and denied any attempts to squash it. "We ourselves commissioned the report so why would we want to suppress it? For each of our schools we chose the top academicians in the country for the review. The report was delayed as many of the people working on it were travelling across the world. We, too, have been asking for the report," he said. As for the report being critical of TISS, Parasuraman said he could not tell whether it was positive or negative as he had not seen it. "We did not ask anyone to write a glowing report for us. We wanted to know how we could better the institution. This was not a fact-finding committee but one comprising academicians who could reflect on the institution," he said. Parasuraman said TISS was a government institution and anybody who wanted to know the status of the report could file an RTI. II/V. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/TISS-director-resigns-over-issue-of-review-panel-report/articleshow/46995194.cms TISS director resigns over issue of review panel report Anahita Mukherji, TNN | Apr 21, 2015, 06.01AM IST MUMBAI: On Monday morning, the day TOI reported on the alleged suppression of a review committee report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), the director of the institute, S Parasuraman told TOI that he had resigned from his post. When TOI called him later in the day to check whether his resignation had been accepted, he said he did not want to speak with us again. In an email from Parasuraman to TISS faculty members on Monday, a copy of which is with TOI, he wrote, "Much of the substance for the news item in Times of India went from a few faculty members and one review committee member." However, TOI has not divulged any information to Parasuraman about where we received our information from, or who our sources are. TOI had reported on fears that an academic review committee report, which is believed to be critical of the institution, was being suppressed, as the report is yet to see the light of day, 10 months after the committee last met. The committee comprises senior academicians from across the country, including vice-chancellors and retired vice- chancellors. A member of the committee told TOI of a number of irregularities in the manner in which the institution was expanding. According to the review committee member, TISS had undergone a phenomenal expansion, but had done so too frequently in the absence of the requisite infrastructure. "In some campuses, the library is overcrowded and students have no place to study. Often four students are crammed in a hostel room for two. In one instance, a student fell off the top of a bunk bed in the absence of railings," says the member. The committee member told TOI that the rapid expansion of TISS resulted in a need for more teaching posts than UGC could sanction across campuses, with the result that many of the posts were funded by the Tata Trust with the hope that eventually UGC would sanction the posts. "We were paid an average of Rs 60,000 each over the course of the review and put up in five-star hotels. Why was so much money spent on us if the report is still to see the light of day?" asks the member. After an email to TOI expressing his displeasure over the article, Parasuraman SMSed to say he had put in his resignation. "You made my life simple. I just resigned from TISS. God bless you all," said his message. In subsequent messages in response to TOI's query over whether he was sure he was going to resign, he said, "I have already resigned. It is not about myself - it hurts when wrong intentions of some affect the dignity of the institution. TISS is too dignified an institution to be dragged to such unfounded accusations. I am taking responsibility as head of the institution." In an email to TOI, he went on to say, "It is an unfortunate situation that when the institute is requesting the Review Committee members to submit the report for the past 18 months, it has not been able to do so (all are eminent scholars and too busy to get together and do the final report). I am reproducing an email that I wrote to them in February 2015 asking for the report and their response is attached." However, the review committee member told TOI that the committee had submitted a 35-page draft report in July 2014. III/V. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/TISS-director-didnt-resign-just-said-so-in-a-huff/articleshow/47006092.cms 'TISS director didn't resign, just said so in a huff' Anahita Mukherji | Apr 22, 2015, 12.03 AM IST MUMBAI: A day after Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) director S Parasuraman sent text messages to TOI to say he was resigning from the post after this paper wrote of the alleged suppression of a report on the institute, his office called to clarify that he did not actually resign, but had just said so "in a huff" to TOI. In three SMSes on Monday, Parasuraman stated emphatically that he was resigning. When TOI called him later the same day, he said he didn't want to talk. But, on Tuesday, his office called to say he had been "disturbed" the previous day and promised to send TOI his "quote" via the TISS public relations agency. Till late evening, they were yet to sent the reason for the turnaround. Meanwhile, the day TOI published the story, a member of the institute's governing board wrote to the director saying he wished to visit the Tuljapur, Hyderabad and Guwahati campuses "to see the state of progress on these campuses." TOI had reported that an academic review committee report, believed to be critical of the institution, was yet to see the light of day nearly a year after the members last met. "We were paid Rs 5,000 a day to work on the report, which works out to around Rs 60,000 per person over the course of the review. We were put up in five-star hotels while on outstation campuses. Why did TISS spend so much on us if they don't want to publish our report?" asked a leading Indian academician and review committee member. He says the institute undertook phenomenal expansion in the last decade without adequate infrastructure. "On some campuses, the library is overcrowded and students have no place to study. Often four students are crammed in a hostel room for two. In one instance, a student fell off the top of a bunk bed in the absence of railings," said a review committee member. TISS connected TOI with committee member, Dr Nimesh Desai of the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences. When TOI asked him why the report had been delayed, he felt it was "inappropriate to discuss it in public". "We prepared our first draft in April 2014. But we felt the report needed an alumni perspective; we felt it was too slanted in favour of what students were saying and we wanted to be made privy to the processes the institute undertook during expansion," he said. While TOI reported on alleged fears that the institute may have attempted to suppress the report, an email from TISS registrar C P Mohan said, "The committee is yet to submit its report. Therefore, to allege suppression of the review committee report is completely baseless and untrue." While TOI quoted a committee member saying that the committee had come up with a 35-page draft report in July last year, Mohan's email said no such draft had been submitted. However, at no point did TOI say that the draft report had been submitted to the institute. It had been submitted to the committee members. IV/V. http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/tiss-director-i-havent-resigned-i-remain-in-office/ CITIES WEDNESDAY, APR 22, 2015 TISS director: I haven't resigned, I remain in office The reason, he said, was delay in submission of the report. He, however, did not say whether he has submitted any resignation letter to the governing board. (Source: Express photo) By: Express News Service | Mumbai | Published on:April 22, 2015 1:11 am Following a media report which claimed that Prof S Parasuraman, director of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) has resigned from his post over an institute review committee report, the director said he still occupies the chair, and that he has asked the governing board of the institute whether he should resign or not. The reason, he said, was delay in submission of the report. He, however, did not say whether he has submitted any resignation letter to the governing board. "A committee was commissioned to study the work at TISS. The idea was to get eminent scholars to suggest ways in which we could further improve. My governing board is also eager to see that report. But there has been a delay in submission of the report. As the institute director, who has commissioned the report, it is my responsibility get the report on time. Hence, I have asked my governing board what is to be done. And, I have posed this question to my governing board whether I should resign from the post over this delay," said Parasuraman. RELATED TISS To Revamp BEd Curriculum Slums Drive Up Infant Mortality In Eastern Suburbs TISS To Open Vocational Training Institutes On Three Campuses He further said, "To keep the legacy and dignity of TISS intact is my priority. Given the circumstances when TISS has been spoken about basely without evidence, I have recommended various options to the governing board to safeguard the reputation of our institute. I continue to remain the director at TISS." An external committee was set up last year to review the work of TISS. According to media reports, the report has allegedly criticised the way the institute was expanding and that attempts were being made to suppress it. "I am in discussion with my governing board about this entire episode. There has been some malicious intentions to tarnish the institute's image. My effort is to clarify that when the final report has not been submitted yet, there is no question of suppressing it," said Parasuraman. A faculty of the institute, on condition of anonymity, however, added that the institute has been expanding rapidly in the last few years, without taking into consideration aspects like infrastructure and availability of teachers. A member of the academic review committee, Dr Nimesh Desai from the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences, Delhi, said that the full panel met at TISS campus in Govandi in April 2014, which is when the first compiled draft was circulated within the committee members. "We felt that the impression being given is that there have been some unauthorised expansion. This issue was brought to the institute's notice and we asked them to let us have access to relevant records, which was given to us, Finally we felt that the report should be neutral and unbiased. The drafting committee then met in July 2014 and in an email in February this year, it was agreed upon that we'll finalise the report. But it has been the collective failure of the panel to submit the final report," Desai said, adding that there is no reason to believe the report is being suppressed. [email protected] V. http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2015/04/tiss-director-resignation/ CAMPUS WATCH When A TOI Headline Sent TISS Students Into A Tizzy Apr 22, 2015No Comments By Shruti Singh: It's not every day that you wake up to an article in the newspaper about a plethora of controversies that your institute has been a part of. Tuesday morning was one such occasion. "TISS Director Resigns Over Issue of Review Panel Report" flashed in all the WhatsApp and Facebook groups that I am part of. The headline was alarming enough to motivate anyone to pry for details. Tata Institute of Social Sciences has earned a reputation for itself for being one of India's premier institutes. The selection process is rigorous and the life after selection is even more taxing. In this light, a headline such as this sent the student population into a tizzy. Source Source The article says that a group of academicians from across the country met last year to review the institute's performance and quality of education in the last ten years, among other things, and prepared a report of the same. The national daily informs that this report is critical of TISS which is why the authorities have been attempting to suppress it from publishing. It also suggests that the fact that the review committee was provided with five-star hotel accommodation and a hefty remuneration reveals the institute's desperation towards receiving an all praises report. As a student of the institute, it is not new to hear such speculative news. The campus in itself is a hotbed of rumours and speculations. The only reliable source that we have is the formal email which is sent by the Director to all staff members and students, part of which has been included by TOI too. The expansion of TISS in terms of increased number of schools and research centres has been disconcerting to students, alumni and staff members alike. In the last ten years, the institute has introduced new courses and new teaching methods, while the number of teaching staff remains skewed. Prior to the ruthless expansion, the Mumbai campus of TISS had about 300 students in total, all of whom resided in the old campus which has four hostels - two each for girls and boys. All staff members too lived in the campus, making the environment conducive to holistic development of scholars. One of the ex-students, who now works with TISS as a guest lecturer, recalled her experiences and said that because everyone lived in the same campus, it felt like one big family where they all knew each other. There were lesser students in one class which took care of the teacher-student ratio. Students were not crammed inside hostel rooms. All this is a thing of the past. Currently, there are around 600 students enrolled in the School of Social Work alone. There are approximately 120 students in the School of Labour Studies, almost 200 students in the Health School and the numbers only seem to be increasing. The Masters course in Disaster Management fell under the School of Habitat Studies as a centre. Talks are going on to start a designated School of Disaster Management which will also have some new courses. While the greener side of the grass says that there will be new unconventional courses and students of the country will have wider options to be involved with the social sector, the not so green side suggests that the institute will run out of effective infrastructure to support increased number of enrolments. Talking about the infrastructure, TISS boasts of an impeccable library with free high speed Wi-Fi which is the lifeline of all students. However, due to the increased number of usage, the internet often slugs. The hostel rooms are small and apt only for two people. Four people are crammed in them with at least one not getting a wardrobe to store clothes. When your institute is known for being academically demanding, living in such conditions challenges the wellbeing of students. There are no doubts about the popularity of TISS among social science students which seems to be evolving with each passing year. TISS admitted 900 students for the academic year 2014-16, which is a big number for any institute. Now that we have discussed the problems, let's talk about the TOI report. What is particularly disheartening about the news item is that it took the issue and blew it out of proportion by claiming that the Director has resigned. As part of the institute, we would have received such news from the Director himself before it reaching TOI, which we clearly did not. However controversial the issue of the review panel might be, the institute is known for being transparent and accountable. The grapevine around lack of funds from the Tata Trust and UGC makes one curious on how the institute is sustaining itself. These are issues which have the potential of wrecking havoc in the present and future student community of the school. Whatever be the future of the institute, it is safe to say now that the Director has not resigned and remains in office, and TOI should refrain from perpetuating misleading information. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
