The Delhi University (DU) has done little to ensure due representation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in its faculty and is “failing on the national commitment for social justice”, a panel on the welfare of OBCs said in an action taken report to the Parliament, The Print reported.
According to the committee report submitted in the Lok Sabha, on December 2, there are only about 5 per cent of faculty members belonging to the OBC communities in DU as against the 27 per cent reserved posts. The number of teachers belonging to the OBC category in DU is only 79 as against the sanctioned figure of 1,706. This comes to 4.63 per cent. The report noted that the situation is more “worrisome” when it comes to specific posts. Not even one out of the 174 and 67 posts of Associate Professor and Professor, respectively, has been filled, it reportedly said.
The panel has now directed the university to fill all sanctioned posts for Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Professor within a stipulated time frame. It also asked the Ministry of Education to track the hiring process. According to the action taken report, the Ministry told the panel in a reply that DU initiated the appointment for as many as 857 posts in 2019 and the interviews were scheduled from October 2020. By December 2020, 44 new appointments were made out of which 13 were from the OBC category.
The ministry further informed the committee that DU has been taking out advertisements for filling up faculty posts from time to time, including for the reserved category. “A careful perusal of 263 posts of assistant professor, 428 associate professor and 166 professor advertised in 2019, shows that when the university is able to fill these posts the percentage of the incumbents on the reserved posts of OBC will be as per the prescribed ratios,” the ministry added in its response, as quoted in the committee report.
