Centre considers applying quota norms to faculty recruitment in IIMS

NEW DELHI: Concerned over the negligible presence of teachers belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes among faculty at the premier Indian Institutes of Management (IIMS), the ministry of human resource development (HRD) wants the B-schools to start following reservation norms.

The low representation of the weaker sections in teaching positions at the IIMS has come to the notice of the top brass of the HRD ministry, which could soon write to authorities at the institutes to follow constitutional provisions when they hire faculty,a senior official said. “The number of SCS, STS and even OBCS {Other Backward Classes} among the teachers of the IIMS is extremely low. Probably it ranges close to zero in some of them. This is not desirable and the ministry feels more needs to be done. We plan to write to the IIMS on this key aspect,” the senior official said.

A second official said while most government-run universities and colleges have been following the reservation policy, the IIMS have continued to hold out. India has 20 IIMS that are administered under the IIM Act brought by the HRD ministry in 2017.

According to the second official, the representation of teachers from SCS is not even 5% in many IIMS. The number of STS is even less. Even OBCS and EWS groups are grossly underrepresented. According to reservation norms, at least 15% seats should be reserved for SCS, 7.5% for STS and 27% for OBCS in government jobs. An IIM director said: “First of all, the number of applicants from these sections is very low. Often when a post is advertised, the applications from candidates belonging to the weaker sections could be as low as 1 to 2 %. Secondly, many IIMS have filled up posts quite close to their sanctioned strength. This leaves lesser space from new applicants. Thirdly, the IIM Act has not made any specific condition related to faculty reservation; therefore, the 1975 communique is followed.”