Telegraph India: Explainer: Sunday, 1st
November 2026.
At IIT Kharagpur, SC, ST and OBC staff make up less than 10 per cent of faculty strength, while the institute records 10 student suicides over five years
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The IITs have failed to
adhere to the constitutionally mandated reservation policy in faculty
recruitment, impacting SC/ST representation in key bodies meant to curb
discrimination.
Data obtained by Pranav Jeevan P, an alumnus of IIT Bombay, through the Right to Information (RTI) Act shows that only about 20 per cent of faculty members were from SC, ST and OBC communities in seven IITs that have shared data (see chart).
Under the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Act, 2019, institutes are supposed to reserve 15 per cent of faculty posts for SCs, 7.5 per cent for STs, and 27 per cent for OBCs.
Through his RTI application, Jeevan sought data on department- and category-wise composition of faculty in all IITs, faculty vacancies, the number of applications received for faculty posts from 2025 till now, mental health facilities, complaints received and their nature and the actions taken by the SC/ST cells.
According to data, SC, ST and OBC faculty members constitute less than 10 per cent of the existing faculty strength at IIT Kharagpur, the country’s first IIT. There are 20 SC, 46 OBC and two ST faculty members at the institution against 236, 118 and 424 sanctioned posts, respectively.
The shortfall can’t be blamed on the lack of applicants. Data shows that 48 per cent of the applications received by the institute since 2025 were from SC, ST and OBC candidates.
In the last five years, IIT Kharagpur has witnessed 10 student suicides, which include two SC students and one ST student. The institute has 12 regular counsellors and one psychiatrist hired on contract for 14,764 students, a ratio that doesn’t even meet the UGC norm of one mental health professional for every 500 students.
The situation is similar in other IITs, too. Jeevan said the IITs have been lying that they were not getting enough applicants.
“About 50 per cent of all faculty applications come from SC, ST, and OBC candidates. IITs have a savarna hegemony problem. Unless they are forced to follow reservation norms, casteism will remain rampant in these institutes. The only way to counter casteism is to have more members from these marginalised categories in faculty positions,” he said.
Jeevan said most departments in the IITs were devoid of SC/ST/OBC faculty members, which means students from these communities don’t have anyone to approach when they face discrimination.
“Most of these institutes do not have a functioning SC/ST cell for students or an established grievance redress mechanism. In some institutes, the cells exist for the sake of it. They are not allotted funds. They don’t conduct any outreach events and activities for students. None of them raises the issue of reservation violation in faculty recruitment,” he said.
Prof. Avatthi Ramaiah, former dean of the Equal Opportunity Centre at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, who specialises in caste, social exclusion and inclusive policy, said there was evidence of deserving SC/ST/OBC candidates being rejected over caste.
“Those from savarna castes occupying positions of power in academic and professional institutions such as the IITs are very conscious of not considering SC/ST/OBC candidates despite the existence of a reservation policy. There is no dearth of talent among the SC/ST/OBC candidates,” he said.
“By virtue of being a part of several selection panels either as subject expert or as observer, I know that those competing for reserved posts often face relatively tougher questions. The selection committee subsequently concludes that those candidates are ‘not found suitable’,” Ramaiah said.
JNU PhD admission
The SFI, the student arm of the CPM, on Wednesday alleged violation of reservation policy in Jawaharlal Nehru University’s advertisement for 711 regular PhD seats this year.
According to the SFI, against the 7.5 per cent reservation requirement for ST candidates, at least 53 seats should have been earmarked for them. However, the PhD Admission Prospectus 2026–27 has advertised only 38, a shortfall of around 15 seats.
Similarly, it said, the prospectus advertised 103 seats for SC candidates against around 107 required under the 15 per cent reservation requirement. For persons with benchmark disabilities, the prospectus earmarked 17 seats against a minimum of around 36, the SFI alleged.
The SFI has filed separate complaints with the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) against the violations, SFI secretary Aishe Ghosh and its president Adarsh M. Saji told reporters on Wednesday.
At IIT Kharagpur, SC, ST and OBC staff make up less than 10 per cent of faculty strength, while the institute records 10 student suicides over five years
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Data obtained by Pranav Jeevan P, an alumnus of IIT Bombay, through the Right to Information (RTI) Act shows that only about 20 per cent of faculty members were from SC, ST and OBC communities in seven IITs that have shared data (see chart).
Under the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Act, 2019, institutes are supposed to reserve 15 per cent of faculty posts for SCs, 7.5 per cent for STs, and 27 per cent for OBCs.
Through his RTI application, Jeevan sought data on department- and category-wise composition of faculty in all IITs, faculty vacancies, the number of applications received for faculty posts from 2025 till now, mental health facilities, complaints received and their nature and the actions taken by the SC/ST cells.
According to data, SC, ST and OBC faculty members constitute less than 10 per cent of the existing faculty strength at IIT Kharagpur, the country’s first IIT. There are 20 SC, 46 OBC and two ST faculty members at the institution against 236, 118 and 424 sanctioned posts, respectively.
The shortfall can’t be blamed on the lack of applicants. Data shows that 48 per cent of the applications received by the institute since 2025 were from SC, ST and OBC candidates.
In the last five years, IIT Kharagpur has witnessed 10 student suicides, which include two SC students and one ST student. The institute has 12 regular counsellors and one psychiatrist hired on contract for 14,764 students, a ratio that doesn’t even meet the UGC norm of one mental health professional for every 500 students.
The situation is similar in other IITs, too. Jeevan said the IITs have been lying that they were not getting enough applicants.
“About 50 per cent of all faculty applications come from SC, ST, and OBC candidates. IITs have a savarna hegemony problem. Unless they are forced to follow reservation norms, casteism will remain rampant in these institutes. The only way to counter casteism is to have more members from these marginalised categories in faculty positions,” he said.
Jeevan said most departments in the IITs were devoid of SC/ST/OBC faculty members, which means students from these communities don’t have anyone to approach when they face discrimination.
“Most of these institutes do not have a functioning SC/ST cell for students or an established grievance redress mechanism. In some institutes, the cells exist for the sake of it. They are not allotted funds. They don’t conduct any outreach events and activities for students. None of them raises the issue of reservation violation in faculty recruitment,” he said.
Prof. Avatthi Ramaiah, former dean of the Equal Opportunity Centre at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, who specialises in caste, social exclusion and inclusive policy, said there was evidence of deserving SC/ST/OBC candidates being rejected over caste.
“Those from savarna castes occupying positions of power in academic and professional institutions such as the IITs are very conscious of not considering SC/ST/OBC candidates despite the existence of a reservation policy. There is no dearth of talent among the SC/ST/OBC candidates,” he said.
“By virtue of being a part of several selection panels either as subject expert or as observer, I know that those competing for reserved posts often face relatively tougher questions. The selection committee subsequently concludes that those candidates are ‘not found suitable’,” Ramaiah said.
JNU PhD admission
The SFI, the student arm of the CPM, on Wednesday alleged violation of reservation policy in Jawaharlal Nehru University’s advertisement for 711 regular PhD seats this year.
According to the SFI, against the 7.5 per cent reservation requirement for ST candidates, at least 53 seats should have been earmarked for them. However, the PhD Admission Prospectus 2026–27 has advertised only 38, a shortfall of around 15 seats.
Similarly, it said, the prospectus advertised 103 seats for SC candidates against around 107 required under the 15 per cent reservation requirement. For persons with benchmark disabilities, the prospectus earmarked 17 seats against a minimum of around 36, the SFI alleged.
The SFI has filed separate complaints with the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) against the violations, SFI secretary Aishe Ghosh and its president Adarsh M. Saji told reporters on Wednesday.
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