The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) should be exempt from reservations in faculty positions as these are “institutes of national importance and involved in research” and the power of appointment should be vested with their Board of Governors, an eight -member panel, set up by the ministry of education, said in its report.
The panel said rather than specific quotas, diversity issues should be addressed through outreach campaigns and targeted recruitment of faculty in IITs. There are 23 IITs.
The report, submitted in June and accessed by TOI, said, “Being established and recognised as institutions of national importance under an Act of Parliament, IITs ought to be listed under (Clause 4) of the CEI (Reservation in Teacher’s Cadre) Act 2019, for exemption from reservations. This must be reconsidered for inclusion of IITs in the Schedule taking into account the nature of these institutions, duties and their activities. The matter of reservations in these institutions may be vested with their respective Board of Governors as per the Board resolutions, statutes and bye-laws.”
According to the CEI Act, institutions of excellence, research institutions and institutions of national and strategic importance are exempt from caste-based reservations in faculty appointments.