New Delhi, 9 April 2024: The Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC), a student group, has accused the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Madras and IIT Bombay of repeatedly violating the reservation policy in faculty recruitment and PhD admissions. The study circle has demanded that the authorities hold these premier institutions accountable for denying seats to candidates from Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) categories.
IIT Madras Reservation Violations
- Data obtained through RTI reveals that 6 out of 10 departments at IIT Madras did not have a single ST student.
- In 2023, only 2% of PhD admissions went to ST candidates, and 10% went to SC candidates.
- Departments like Mathematics, Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, and Computer Science & Engineering did not admit any ST students.
IIT Bombay Reservation Violations
- IIT Bombay failed to implement the Mission Mode Recruitment (MMR) and did not recruit any ST or OBC faculty members in 2023.
- The current faculty composition shows that SC, ST, and OBC faculty members constitute only 6% of the total.
- Sixteen departments did not admit a single ST student for PhD programs, seven departments did not recognize any SC students, and two departments did not accept any OBC students.
- Out of the total 85 PhD admissions, 33 SC, 24 ST, and 28 OBC students were denied seats.
The APPSC has expressed concern over the lack of diversity in the faculty and student populations at these prestigious IITs, stating that it has resulted in the denial of seats to SC, ST, and OBC candidates. The group has tagged the Ministry of Education, demanding that the government hold the IITs accountable for violating constitutional provisions.
This is not the first time the IITs have been accused of failing to adhere to reservation policies. Earlier this year, the APPSC shared RTI data on IIT Delhi, IIT Kharagpur, and IIT Kanpur, revealing similar concerns about the under-representation of marginalized communities in faculty recruitment and PhD admissions.
The APPSC’s persistent efforts to highlight these issues underline the need for greater transparency and accountability in the admissions and hiring processes at India’s top technical institutes. The group’s demands for the IITs to be held responsible for violating the constitutional rights of SC, ST, and OBC candidates are likely to put further scrutiny on these institutions’ commitment to diversity and inclusion.
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