PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss on Monday said the reservation policy should be followed in the appointment of 49 assistant professors (backlog appointments) in the Indian technical educational institutes such as the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. The backlog vacancies across IITs should be identified and reservation policy should be followed appropriately, he added.
In a statement, he said those entitled to reservations had been denied their opportunity in the face-to-face interview. “Despite the efforts of the Supreme Court and the Centre, it is condemnable that IIT management is continuing to deny reservations to those who deserve it,” he said.
According to him, the reservation policy is not being followed in IITs and IIMs across India. “Of the total 49 backlog appointments, only 24 have been filled. The rest of the 25 appointments have not been filled on the pretext that they couldn’t find candidates. Of 25 vacancies reserved for OBCs, only 14 has been filled. Of the 19 vacancies reserved for SCs, only 10 has been filled. Not even one vacancy of the five in the Economically Weaker Section has been filled. Despite candidates who are eligible for these categories applying for the job, they have been rejected,” Dr. Anbumani said.
He alleged that the intention is to shift these vacancies to the general category on the pretext that they could not find suitable candidates and fill it up with those known to the decision makers. “This has been the case in IITs and IIMs over many years and OBCs have been denied opportunities in this manner. In IIT Madras, out of the 684 teaching posts, 599 posts have been filled with upper castes, 66 posts with OBC candidates and 16 for Scheduled castes and 3 for Scheduled Tribes,” he said.
The Supreme Court had ordered 49 posts should be filled with OBCs, SCs and STs because reservation policy had been denied in IITs. “If reservations were properly followed, 185 vacancies should be filled by OBCs, 102 posts should be filled by SCs and 51 posts with STs. How many eons will it take to implement reservation policy in IITs?” he said.
