No ST and OBC faculty at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay were recruited in 2023. Sixteen departments at IIT Bombay did not take a single student belonging to the ST community during PhD admissions for 2023-24. No ST student was admitted in five departments at IIT Bombay in the last nine years.
This data was shared by IIT Bombay student group, the Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC), based on a Right to Information (RTI) response received on February 6, 2024.
In a post shared on microblogging platform X on April 9, the student group alleged that IIT Bombay “is violating reservation norms despite the MMR (Mission Mode Recruitment) announcement.”
In a post on X on April 9, APPSC wrote: “The lack of diversity in faculty has resulted in denial of seats to SC ST OBC students. Despite having a sufficient number of applicants from every category, IIT Bombay keeps violating reservation norms in PhD admissions.”
‘Data incorrect’
The next day, IIT Bombay responded to the post on X saying, “The figures in the tweet are incorrect. Correct figures for faculty recruitment are: 27 SC, 6 ST, 29 OBC NC, 1 EWS – the total offered since 2021. Many have joined. Some are yet to join. We are yet to complete interviews for certain departments which will bring in more candidates.”
Based on the RTI findings, the student group also accused IIT Madras of violating reservations in faculty recruitment and PhD admissions in 2023. Earlier this year, APPSC accused IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur too for similar reasons.
Around a month ago, the student group accused IIT Kharagpur of “violating reservation norms in faculty recruitment and PhD admissions, even in 2023, despite govt and judiciary orders.”
It had said: “Over 13,500 SC, ST and OBC students have dropped out of courses that they were taking at central universities, IITs and IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management) in the last five years, according to a response in the Lok Sabha on December 4, 2023.
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