New Delhi: Reserved category faculty positions constitute the majority of reported teaching vacancies across Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), an institute-wise data analysis by Hindustan Times reveals. As India’s premier engineering institutes expand campuses, launch new programmes and increase student intake, the latest figures suggest that the challenge extends beyond an overall shortage of teachers, with reversed category posts accounting for a disproportionately large share of vacancies where caste-wise data is available.According to the HT analysis, only nine of the country’s 23 IITs provided caste category vacancy data, while the remaining reported only aggregate figures. Across these nine institutes, 888 of the 1,501 vacant positions, nearly 60%, belonged to ‘Scheduled Caste’ (SC), ‘Scheduled Tribe’ (ST) and ‘Other Backward Classes’ (OBC) categories.A more nuanced breakdown of the numbers shows that OBC vacancies alone made up roughly one-third of the reported vacancies, far exceeding ‘General’ category vacancies, which stood at 443. SC vacancies numbered 261, while ‘Economically Weaker Section’ (EWS) and ST vacancies were 170 and 150, respectively.Apart from the concerning trend indicated by category-wise data, wider faculty shortage plagues the IIT system. As per the HT report, 4,804 of the 12,498 sanctioned positions across all 23 IITs were vacant as of January 30, implying a 38.4% vacancy rate. This means that nearly two of every five faculty positions were unoccupied.Furthermore, several institutes, including IIT Patna and IIT Kharagpur, were found to have vacancy rates higher than 50%, while more than 12 IITs had over one-third of the sanctioned openings lying vacant.Despite the alarming pattern, IIT administrators have maintained that the recruitment process is intentionally rigorous. When questioned by HT, directors attributed the vacancies to an increasingly “competitive global market” for qualified PhD candidates, with top researchers often opting for positions at international universities, multinational research and development laboratories and deep-tech companies. They added that the institutes’ “highly selective” selection processes result in positions remaining empty until suitable candidates are identified.Also read: Over 80% IIT, IIM Faculty from General Category Despite Reservation Mandates, RTI RevealsAn important aspect highlighted by the report is the lack of transparency in recruitment data. Only nine IITs disclosed category-wise data, limiting a comprehensive assessment of the state of representation. The fact that two-fifths of the IIT system data alone points to such deplorable condition of inclusive recruitment at the leading national engineering institutes, exacerbates this issue.Faculty members quoted by HT have argued that greater transparency in shortlisting candidates could help address the persistent vacancies. “The government prescribes reservation, but the shortlisting process is largely handled at the department level. There should be clearer and more transparent screening criteria,” a faculty member from IIT Roorkee told the publication. Another member, corroborating this view, said the absence of standardised screening norms means that recruitment outcomes often depend on individual departmental committees and evaluators, leading to a variance in practice across institutions.Multiple IITs have reportedly adopted year-round recruitment, mission-mode hiring, special hiring drives and measures such as strengthening research grants, expanding laboratory infrastructure, boosting international collaborators and engaging visiting and adjunct faculties to combat the broader faculty shortage crisis, reported HT.Nevertheless, the data evidences that conversation surrounding faculty selection at IITs is not merely confined to an overall number of vacant teaching posts or a dearth of qualified researchers and encompasses an integral caste identity aspect that has not yet been adequately answered. The concentration of unfilled reserved category posts in national institutions is a consequential and troubling observation, especially in a highly stratified society like India.