Over 11k faculty positions vacant in central universities, IITs and IIMs: Ministry of Education

New Delhi: Over 11,000 faculty positions are vacant in central universities, IITs and IIMs across the country, according to Ministry of Education (MoE) statistics.

The data was shared by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in a written reply in Lok Sabha.

In 45 Central Universities, a total of 6,180 posts of Professor, Associate Professor and Assistant Professor, out of 18,956 sanctioned posts are vacant.

Similarly, in Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), a total of 4,502 posts out of 11,170 sanctioned posts are vacant.

In Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), 493 posts out of 1,566 faculty posts are vacant.

"Occurrence of vacancies and filling thereof is a continuous process. Central Universities are autonomous bodies, established under respective Central Acts. Their recruitment procedure is formulated by their statutory bodies in accordance with their acts, statues, rules and UGC regulations or guidelines," Pradhan said.

The Minister further said that he has directed all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to fill up the vacancies in a Mission Mode.

"In addition to writing to all the HEIs to fill up the vacancies in a Mission Mode, the Ministry has set up a monthly monitoring mechanism," he said.

Among the vacant posts in the central universities and IIMs, 961 positions are reserved for the SC category, 578 for the ST category, and 1,657 are OBC posts. The vacant positions reserved for EWS and PWD categories are 643 and 301 respectively.

"The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers Cadre) Act, 2019 has been notified on July 9, 2019, to ensure the preparation of the rosters by considering the university as a unit. Also, according to the Act, reservation is applicable in all Higher Educational Institutions except the institutions listed in the schedule and a few other exceptions as stated in the Act.

"As per this Act, reservation is provided for all posts in direct recruitment in teacher's cadre in Central Educational Institutions. After enactment of this Act, no reserved post is to be de-reserved," Pradhan said.

There are 23 IITs in the country while the number of IIMs is 20.