Reserved positions at institutions like IIT and IIM are not being filled, and the government is trying to find a solution. Why is this problem arising?:

News Topical, Digital Desk : While the reservation system is making a significant contribution to the advancement of society's underprivileged sections, higher education institutions like the IITs and IIMs are also facing some challenges. Often, due to the lack of suitable teachers from the reserved categories, positions remain vacant, and students suffer the consequences.

Before 2014, the system was that if a suitable teacher was not found despite three advertisements, the post would be declared unreserved. But now, a strict rule is in place that the post will not be unreserved. The political leadership is unwilling to relax this. The government has formed a high-level committee, headed by Dr. RP Tiwari, Vice Chancellor of the Central University of Punjab, to find a permanent solution. It is working rapidly in this direction.

Institutions lagging behind in global rankings

It is believed that it will submit its report on this matter soon. According to top institutions, not only are they lagging behind in world rankings due to vacant teaching positions, but it is also affecting the studies of students. Currently, there are about 1100 universities in the country, including 56 central universities, 23 IITs, 26 TRIPLITS, 21 IIMs, 31 NITs and 26 top central educational institutions like AIIMS.

It remains to be seen what recommendations Dr. RP Tiwari's report will yield, but according to R. Subramanian, former Higher Education Secretary of the Ministry of Education, filling vacant reserved teaching positions in higher educational institutions is certainly a major challenge. This harms both students and institutions. The government should develop a comprehensive plan to address this.

Changes in the eligibility criteria for teachers

Talented students from reserved categories should be identified in advance and encouraged to become teachers. This will quickly create a large pool of students from this category, eliminating this problem forever. Furthermore, extensive publicity should be given to filling vacant reserved category positions.

According to former UGC Chairman Dr. M. Jagadesh Kumar, the UGC released a draft last year to address the shortage of teachers in higher education institutions. It changes the eligibility criteria for teachers. In many fields, such as art, music, and yoga, teachers are recommended to be appointed based solely on their professional experience, even without a PhD or master's degree. This will address the shortage of reserved category teachers in many areas.

According to a report from the Ministry of Education, over 4,000 vacant teaching positions for SC, ST, and OBC categories are currently vacant in central universities, Triple IT, and IIMs alone. Of these, 2,630 are vacant in central universities alone. There are also 468 vacant positions in Triple IT and 391 in IIMs. The government intends to fill these positions soon.