An RTI (Right to Information) revealed the dismal representation of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (SC, ST, and OBC) faculty members at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
The RTI plea was filed by Kiran Kumar Gowd, President, All India OBC Students Association (AIOBCSA) and PhD research scholar at the University of Hyderabad (UoH).
The RTI, dated September 6, revealed that the total number of General, OBC, SC, ST, EWS and PwD faculty positions, including Professors, Associate Professors and Assistant Professors, allocated are 300.
But when it comes to the total number of filled General, OBC, SC, ST, EWS, PwD faculty positions, including Professors, Associate Professors and Assistant Professors, are the following for IIT Bhubaneswar:
- General: 171 making it 80.28%
- OBC: 28 + 1 PwD making it 12.96%
- SC: 12 making it 5.63%
- ST: 1 making it 0.4%
- EWS: 1 making it 0.4%
Totally, 213 positions have been filled. The RTI mentions that the data includes visiting faculty as well as the director. There are 95 vacant positions.
The student group called the representation "dismal" in a tweet posted on social media platform X.
The representation of marginalised categories has always been a concern. Even at IIT Bombay, via an RTI filed by Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle, had revealed that no ST, OBC faculty was hired in 2023; though the IIT refuted the claim.
At IIT Kanpur, 14 departments do not have ST faculty, RTI data had revealed.
