AHMEDABAD, AUG 8: The country's premier design institute is racked by problems at its very core. Teachers at the National Institute of Design (NID) here feel that they have been given a raw deal. Five teachers have left over the last five years reducing the strength of the Faculty to 38.The morale here is abysmal and if problems of the Faculty are not immediately addressed the institute will have to face the prospect of having its teaching edge blunted with no competent teachers.Evidence clearly shows that teaching conditions at NID are far from promising. The NID has failed to fill the vacant posts, as replacements are not forthcoming. And to make matters worse 15 of the faculty members will retire by the year 2005.The NID is losing its prestige in the academic jobs circuit primarily because of low salaries. The senior-most faculty member, with teaching experience spanning 25 years, draws a monthly salary of Rs 15,000.NID executive director Vikas Satwalekar says, ``The main concern of the institute is to infuse fresh blood into the faculty. But the present salary structure does not attract candidates.''The institute director adds that proposals for raising the salary limits have been sent to the Central Government and are under active consideration by the Planning Commission.Satwalekar observed that the salary scale at the institute should be at par with premier institutes like the IIM and IIT. Besides this, the institute should also be in a position to provide accommodation for its faculty members.He said the NID had sought Rs 1.5 crore for the construction of staff quarters. This proposal is also pending with the Planning Commission.Satwalekar, however, claimed that academic morale at the institute is still high. He says despite unsatisfactory pay structure and shortage of staff, education programmes have not been affected.Several other faculty members echoed director S Balaram, who is the chairman of the professional education programme. Balaram said: ``Since the institute was established in 1961, the faculty has grown with the NID, it is emotionally attached to the institute. The members treat it as their baby.''He said despite being offered handsome salaries and perks in other jobs, some of the teachers insisted upon staying on.MP Ranjan, chairman of the resource centre, said: ``It is all the more a valid reason for sticking to the institute as it needs us now.'' He pointed out that despite all hurdles the institutes achievements had been phenomenal.The NID is famous for designing the familiar logos of Doordarshan, State Bank of India, Indian Airlines, Hindustan Lever Ltd. The design institute had won several international awards - the latest feather in its cap being the ICSID '97 Award for two projects submitted to the DuPont Student Exhibition at The Humane Village Congress, Toronto, Canada.Two NID projects - Infarm and Mandala - won prizes for demonstrating the benefit of design and its applicability to people's lives.
