DMK MP TR Baalu has written to Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal slamming the committee that recommended that IITs be exempt from reservation policy in faculty recruitments. Recently, a committee constituted by the Ministry of Education to address the lack of representation in PhD admissions in IITs, had recommended that IITs be included in the list of 'Institutes of Excellence' which would allow it to restrict the implementation of reservation to just the Assistant Professor Grade 1 and 2.
Baalu said that the committee's report gives a patently wrong opinion, "It states that 'quality and excellence' is being watered down because of reservation policy whereas it is seen from government data that the representative of OBC, SC, STs in faculty positions is less than five per cent and the remaining faculty positions are occupied by the upper castes only and hence the recommendations of the committee should be rejected in toto," the MP demanded.
He also wrote in his letter that Central Educational Institutions including IITs have not implemented reservation policy in faculty positions 'sincerely and seriously', "This has been repeatedly pointed out by the Parliamentary Committee for OBCs and other welfare associations. " He added that persistent representations by the OBCs and SC/ST welfare associations and reports given by Parliamentary Committee for OBCs, the UGC had instructed all central, state and deemed-to-be universities to implement reservation policy in teaching and non-teaching posts and also to fill up the backlog of reserved vacancies.
"Instead of addressing the main issue, for which it was mandated the Committee headed by Prof Ramgoal Pao has taken a negative stand for exclusion of reservation policy which is highly retrograde and objectionable," the MP said. He pointed out that despite there being a 27 percent reservation for OBCs in direct recruitments, less than one percent of OBCs were in top teaching positions, "The authorities concerned with these central institutions should be clearly instructed to implement the reservation and any violation should be strongly dealt with," he demanded.
The MP said that the DMK demanded that the government outrightly reject the committee recommendation and direct all central institutions including IIT to ensure earliest filling up of all vacant posts of reserved categories and if necessary, a special recruitment drive be conducted.
