Ratan Tata saves jobs of 115 employees terminated by TISS

Tata Education Trust's (TET) is headed by Ratan Tata.

Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) -- that had laid off 115 of its employees on June 28 -- announced on Sunday that it would halt the termination of 55 faculty members and 60 non-teaching staff after Tata Education Trust's (TET) headed by Ratan Tata agreed to extend financial grants.

"Ongoing discussions with Tata Education Trust have ensured commitment towards resolving this issue. TET has pledged to release funds for the salaries of project, programme faculty, and non-teaching staff," TISS stated, adding that the staff was requested to continue their work, and their salaries will be disbursed once the institute receives the TET Support Grant.

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Earlier, TISS had terminated the employees citing a lack of grants from Tata Education Trust for their salaries. The administration had also shared that they had been trying to secure funding continuation from the Tata Education Trust over the past six months and had been facing difficulty in sustaining operations without timely release of funds.

The employees who were previously terminated were engaged under projects funded by the Trust, while permanent faculty members at TISS campuses are under the payroll of the University Grants Commission (UGC).

Established in 1936 as the Sir Dorabji Tata Graduate School of Social Work, TISS was renamed Tata Institute of Social Sciences in 1944. A significant milestone occurred in 1964 when it was declared a Deemed University under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act (UGC), 1956.

Since its inception, TISS has aimed to excel in higher education and is renowned for its research in developmental studies, focusing on equality, social justice, and human rights.