Page 60 - EW July 2021 final

International News

EU academics or researchers with a job offer under the fast-
track Global Talent route, they and every family member
are required to pay an annual health surcharge of £625,
with family members charged £608 each in visa costs —
presenting a total bill of £14,500 (Rs.14.96 lakh) for a family
of four applying for a five-year visa.
Those costs, as well as the effort required to fill out
visa-related paperwork, have led several senior research-
ers based in EU universities to rebuff all attempts to bring
them to the UK, explains Ed Pritchard, managing partner at
Anderson Quigley, an executive search firm used by Russell
Group universities to fill research professor roles in strate-
gically important fields, such as artificial intelligence.
“The reality is that, since Brexit, engagement with EU
academics has dwindled,” says Pritchard, who adds that a Delhi University students: normalcy pretence charge
recent search for a professor in machine learning on behalf
of a UK university illustrates the problem facing UK science. deceased, reports The Print.
“We made 100 approaches to suitable candidates, and 20 Apoorvanand, a Hindi professor at Delhi, wrote in Scroll
came back immediately to say Brexit was a reason that they that “Indian universities are pretending everything is nor-
wouldn’t consider the job,” he says. mal, as the world around them is collapsing”. “The univer-
Several research leaders have told THE that since Janu- sity authorities did not think about creating a Covid support
ary, it has become harder to recruit suitable candidates centre on campus,” he told Times Higher Education. “It
from Europe for postdoc positions. According to Home does have health centres, but they haven’t been upgraded
Office figures, just 46 EU citizens applied under the Global to deal with the pandemic.”
Talent route in the first three months of 2021, excluding de- Prof. Apoorvanand is one of the faculty members who
pendants, with 12 applications coming from Italy and eight initiated a petition asking Delhi to set up a special fund for
from Germany. Some 55 applications were made from In- ad hoc staff. “In many ways, our universities have failed
dia, 77 from the US and Canada and 35 from Africa in that their teachers,” he says, adding that non-permanent staff
quarter, figures show. “bear the major teaching load in the colleges, but they have
David Bogle, pro vice-provost and chair of UCL’s doctor- no security and no benefits that come with the job”.
al school, says that national figures on postdoc applications “The situation in the state universities is even more
are difficult to obtain but he is unsurprised by these reports. pathetic. Teachers are dying, many of them very young,”
“Nationally, we have seen a drop in job applications from he adds. Across India, there have been complaints of staff
the EU since the Brexit vote, (and) some academics have being dismissed suddenly, not being paid their salaries or
also left saying there is a feeling that they are not wanted being made to work through the summer to make up for
here. I worry about this situation, as we need this top tal- lost time.
ent. It’s not so much the visa costs that deters applicants Managers have come under fire for pressing on with on-
but the NHS (National Health Service) charges, which are line classes and exams with little flexibility on deadlines,
not a one-off,” says Bogle. despite a deep digital divide and a health emergency. “Many
universities forced their faculty to be on the campus (to
INDIA conduct) online classes without creating infrastructure for
Pandemic jugaad charges this. This meant travelling long distances in crowded buses
or auto rickshaws unprotected,” says Prof. Apoorvanand.
INDIAN UNIVERSITIES ARE FACING mounting
criticism of their response to the country’s deadly SOUTH-EAST ASIA
coronavirus surge, with concern focusing on the Higher ed spending spree
fate of insecurely employed teaching staff.
At the flagship University of Delhi, at least 35 lecturers N THE SORT OF FORMAL CEREMONY BELOVED IN
have died from Covid-19 in the past month, according to this part of the world, VIPs posed on stage, holding shov-
the Delhi University Teachers’ Union. Alok Ranjan Pandey, Iels decorated with giant gold bows, to mark the launch of
the union’s vice president, says academics employed on an a University of Hong Kong (HKU) campus redevelopment
ad hoc basis are most at risk and calls for medical coverage project.
to be extended to them. The union wants a hospital treat- The event held in January, could be viewed only online.
ing Covid patients to be opened on Delhi’s campus, and for However, the message was clear. Not even a pandemic is
the university to provide jobs for family members of the going to stop construction on a new home for the business

60 EDUCATIONWORLD JULY 2021