A recent right to information (RTI) request filed by the Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle (APSSC) at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) has once again put spotlight on poor representation of faculty from scheduled castes (SC), scheduled tribes (ST), and other backward classes (OBC) across several Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).
Despite a special recruitment drive launched to enhance diversity, IITs at Delhi, Bombay, Bhubaneswar, and Guwahati, are lagging behind.
At IIT Bombay, the RTI data revealed a significant lack of diversity among the faculty. Eight departments have no SC, ST, or OBC faculty members at all, while 25 departments are without any ST faculty, 12 have no SC representation, and another 12 have no OBC faculty. Out of more than 670 general category faculty members at the institute, only 58 are from the SC, ST, and OBC categories.
“Our latest RTI reveals that despite getting hundreds of applications, @iitbombay is not recruiting SC ST OBC faculty members and is violating the reservation norms and mission mode recruitment. Who will hold these savarna institutions accountable @EduMinOfIndia,” APPSC wrote in a post on X on Saturday.
In August 2021, the Ministry of Education issued a directive for all centrally funded higher education institutions, including IITs, Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), and National Institutes of Technology (NITs), to fill vacant faculty positions in reserved categories by September 2022. However, the RTI data shows that many institutions have failed to comply with these directives.
At IIT Delhi, six departments have no SC, ST, or OBC faculty members. Furthermore, 22 departments have no ST faculty, 14 departments are without SC faculty, and 9 departments have no OBC representation. Similarly, at IIT Guwahati, 14 departments have no ST faculty, while six departments lack SC faculty, and five are without OBC faculty. IIT Bhubaneswar does not have a single faculty member from the ST category.
The APSSC also shared detailed data for the application and selection of SC, ST, and OBC candidates for faculty positions at IIT Bombay for 2023 and 2024. In 2023, 523 SC candidates applied, but only four were selected. No ST candidates were chosen despite 96 applications, and none of the 779 OBC candidates were hired. In 2024, there was a slight improvement. Out of 44 SC applicants, two were selected, while one out of 22 ST applicants and three out of 106 OBC applicants were chosen.
Shireesh Kedare, Director, IIT Bombay, however sought to allay the concerns of under presentation from marginalised groups. “The recruitment of faculty is a lengthy process, but we are constantly scouting for talent,” said Kedare, adding that the last special round for hiring under the government-mandated reservation took place in 2023.
Kedare further said that while candidates from reserved categories receive certain concessions, such as age relaxations in line with government norms, the institute maintains a uniform recruitment process for all faculty members, ensuring that quality remains a priority. “Many faculty members from reserved categories often choose to join under the general category, opting not to disclose or use the quota system,” he said.
The institute points out that it has 120 female faculty members, among the highest across all IITs. “We continue efforts to attract high-calibre educators while balancing its commitment to diversity and inclusion in the academic sphere,” said Kedare, adding that IIT Bombay is already preparing for the next round of mission mode recruitment (MMR) for candidates from the category. A few category candidates are also selected through normal rolling ads.
