IIT Bombay has issued a clarification via X to the recruitment of faculty members from various reserved categories at its campus. This comes in response to the figures circulating online about the number of faculty from different reserved categories which the institution refuted by saying them as misleading figures.
As per the available figures online which are provided by the institution in an RTI, till 2023 total of 23 SC, 5 ST, and 16 OBC candidates have been recruited so far. It further informs that in the academic session of 2023, 4 SC candidates and 17 candidates from unreserved categories were recruited. However, no candidates from the ST and OBC category were selected in the previous year.
In response to these figures, the Indian Institute of Technology stated that since 2021, 27 SC candidates, 6 ST candidates, 29 OBC-NC, and 1 EWS category candidate have been recruited so far. The institute further added that the recruitment process is underway and the interviews are still going on for certain departments. ‘Many have joined. Some are yet to join’, said IITB.
Misleading figures are circulating about no. of faculty from various reserved categories recruited at IITB. Correct figures: 27 SC, 6 ST, 29 OBC NC, 1 EWS have been offered since 2021. Many have joined. Some are yet to join. We are still interviewing candidates for certain depts.
— IIT Bombay (@iitbombay) April 10, 2024
The users on X questioned the credibility of the data furnished by the institute in its recent clarification which differs from the numbers provided by the institute in their official RTI reply. Users shared the RTI response provided by the institute asking for further clarification over the number of recruitment.
One such user asked, “We did not generate this data. This data was provided by @iitbombay in their official RTI reply as an answer to our questions. Are you saying that @iitbombay lied in the official RTI response they sent?
We did not generate this data. This data was provided by @iitbombay in their official RTI reply as answer to our questions. Are you saying that @iitbombay lied in the official RTI response they sent? pic.twitter.com/4AMkrFk3tY
— APPSC IIT Bombay (@AppscIITb) April 10, 2024
Similarly, the low recruitment rate to the institution is not restricted to the faculty posts, the RTI also reveals the low admission rate of marginalized sections to PhD degrees in the institution. In 2023, out of the 39 departments, 16 did not receive any ST scholarship for a PhD.