Female faculty member of NID resigns, expresses disparagement over portfolio changes to colleagues
female faculty member at the National Institute of Design (NID) resigned on Wednesday, sparking further controversy surrounding the recent reshuffling of faculty portfolios. This incident is being seen as a direct consequence of the ongoing turmoil following the appointment of the new director, Ashok Mondal.
Sources at NID revealed that the faculty member, Sweety Taur, submitted her resignation to the director and administration head without explicitly stating any reasons. However, it is believed that her decision stems from grievances she expressed to colleagues regarding the recent reshuffle.
Taur, who joined NID’s Furniture and Interior Design discipline in October 2019, declined to comment when approached by Ahmedabad Mirror. Her LinkedIn profile indicates prior experience as a faculty trainee at NID and work with the MP State Bamboo Mission.
Attempts to reach Pravin Solanki, the former head of the Furniture and Interior Design department, were unsuccessful. Solanki, who led the department for several years, has been reassigned as lead faculty for the master’s programme in Exhibition and Spatial Design, a course not currently offered at NID, according to officials.
“While the resignation is yet to be accepted, the faculty member informed colleagues that the new orders treat faculty members like a joke and violate established norms,” a faculty member revealed on condi- tion of anonymity. Another col- league added that Taur was eager to continue teaching at NID, suggesting that the reshuffle directly influenced her decision to leave.
Mondal unavailable
As of Wednesday night, NID Director Ashok Mondal remained unavailable for comment. Since taking charge, he has faced significant backlash for reshuffling faculty portfolios, often assigning faculty members to areas outside their expertise. This has led to widespread criticism from both students and faculty. Despite attempting to address these concerns with a second round of reshuffles this week, the controversy continues to simmer.