APSSC alleges IIT Bombay fails to recruit SC, ST, OBC faculty; cites RTI data

NEW DELHI: The Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle (APSSC) has raised serious concerns over the lack of representation of Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) faculty members at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay. In a post shared on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), APSSC accused IIT Bombay of violating reservation norms and failing to recruit SC, ST, and OBC faculty despite receiving hundreds of applications.

The APSSC has posted on X, "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”

IIT Bombay: Faculty composition

According to data obtained by APSSC through a Right to Information (RTI) request, eight departments at IIT Bombay have no SC, ST, or OBC faculty members. Moreover, 25 departments have no ST faculty, 12 departments have no SC faculty, and 12 departments are without any OBC faculty members. The RTI data revealed that despite having over 670 general category faculty members, only 58 SC, ST, and OBC faculty members are currently employed at the institute.

Also read IIT Bhubaneswar fails to meet PhD reservation quota, no ST faculty hired in last 2 years: APPSC

IIT Bombay Recruitment: Low selection rate among reserved category candidates

The APSSC further shared a table showing the application and selection data for SC, ST, and OBC faculty positions in 2023 and 2024 at IIT Bombay. The table presents application and selection data for SC, ST, and OBC categories in 2023 and 2024. In 2023, 523 SC candidates applied, but only 4 were selected, reflecting a low selection rate. Similarly, 96 ST candidates applied, with none selected, while 779 OBC candidates applied, and again, none were chosen. In contrast, 2024 shows a slight improvement. Out of 44 SC applicants, 2 were selected, while 22 ST applicants resulted in 1 selection. The OBC category saw 106 applications, with 3 candidates selected.

Despite the marginal progress in 2024, the APSSC emphasized the overall lack of substantial change, stating that the low selection rates for reserved categories demonstrate issues in IIT Bombay's recruitment practices.