Member of the Parliament (MP) Manickam Tagore wrote to the Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan over the concern regarding reservation norms in PhD admissions by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay. Citing this as an urgent concern to bring to the notice of Pradhan, the MP in his letter stated, "...there have been significant discrepancies in the recent admissions, particularly with respect to the implementation of reservation norms."
Disclosing statistical data, the letter read, "The data indicates that out of the total 263 PhD students admitted this year at IIT Bombay, an overwhelming 66 percent are from the General category. whereas only 9 percent are from the Scheduled Caste (SC) category and a mere 3 percent are from the Schedules Tribe (ST) category." These statistics raise serious concerns about the adherence to the reservation policies mandated by our Constitution, it added.
Additionally, "It has been reported that as many as 80 seats reserved for SC, ST and Other Backward Class (OBC) students have been denied, while an additional 95 General category students were admitted. This demonstrates a clear imbalance in the admissions process, as the number of seats allocated to underprivileged sections of society has been reduced, while those for the General category have been increased," the letter stressed.
The MP expressed that, "...such practices are not only a violation of the spirit of reservation but also perpetuate disparities in access to higher education." Recollecting that our reservation norms are designed to promote social equity and provide equal opportunities to historically marginalised communities, the MP said, "It is disheartening to see these norms not being effectively implemented and the number of minority students at IIT Bombay decreasing over the past eight years."
As per the letter, the MP urged for Pradhan's immediate intervention in these concerns:
1. Conduct a thorough inquiry into the PD admission process at IIT Bombay for the current year to ascertain any violations of reservation norms
2. Ensure that the denied seats for SC, ST and OBC students are immediately reinstated and filled as per the reservation guidelines
3. Implement stricter oversight mechanisms to prevent such disparities in the future and to ensure that all departments comply with the reservation norms
4. Take necessary steps to reverse the declining trend in the enrollment of minority students in IIT Bombay over the past eight years.
