Mumbai: Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) reportedly terminated 55 faculty members and nearly 60 non-teaching staff across its four campuses on Friday, citing financial constraints. Among those affected are half of the teaching staff and all non-teaching staff at its Guwahati campus.
All dismissed staff were contractual employees, some of whom had served the institute for over a decade. TISS attributed their dismissals to the non-receipt of grants from the Tata Education Trust, which funded their salaries, The Indian Express reported.
Of the terminated teaching staff, 20 were from the Mumbai campus, 15 from Hyderabad, 14 from Guwahati, and six from Tuljapur. Currently, only teaching faculty on the University Grants Commission payroll, considered permanent staff, remain at the institute.
"The institute made numerous efforts to secure the release of grants from the Tata Education Trust for salary purposes. Despite official correspondence and personal meetings, a decision on extending the grant period has not been received," stated an email from the office of the officiating registrar, Anil Sutar, to those dismissed.