There are only 20 teaching staff members from the Scheduled Caste (SC) and 8 from the Scheduled Tribe (ST) among a total of 642 in IIT Delhi. This is far less than the government reservation policies, which require 15% of the teaching staff to be from the SC group and 7.5% from the ST group. As per these rules, IIT Delhi should have 96 SC and 48 ST teachers. It means that there are deficits of 76 SC and 40 ST teachers.
A Parliamentary Committee visited IIT Delhi on April 11 to evaluate the degree to which the institute is following reservation policies. It meant taking into account representation among the teaching staff, students, and non-teaching staff.
Students and staff members both penned letters (memoranda) to the committee. They mentioned problems of shortage of SC/ST teachers, problems of research against caste, and problems in placement. The staff members mentioned that there are some departments with no SC or ST staff members at all. The staff members also mentioned that SC/ST staff members do not receive superior positions like Dean or Associate Dean.
They once again believed that although they tried to do research regarding issues of caste, they resisted. At times ethics committees oppose their work without giving adequate opportunity to reply. There had been instances where indecent words had been used against the SC/ST community.
Students complained too. They stated that institute mental health services do not address the issues they are facing due to casteism. Counselors cannot address their issues. That is why most students are reluctant to visit them for help.
They also mentioned that during placement interviews, students are sometimes asked about their caste or position. They want strict guidelines so that this does not happen and suggested that any company doing so be denied campus placements.
The institute responded that they do try to invite SC/ST and reserved category individuals to apply. But hardly any are shortlisted and hired. This implies that they have fewer faculty members than they do. The institute also informed us that there are no empty seats in undergraduate and postgraduate admissions, though some of the PG and PhD students resign due to personal or professional reasons.
Overall, the committee visit was meant to ensure that IIT Delhi is not biased against SC/ST students and staff and provides them with an equal platform in terms of education, recruitment, and research.
