An expert panel has recommended that Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) should be exempted from caste reservations for faculty as they are institutes of national importance established under the Act of Parliament.
An eight member committee submitted a report to additional secretary, department of higher education, Ministry of Education (MoE), on July 17, proposing that the institutes be included in the list of 'Institutes of Excellence' which are exempted from caste-based reservations, according to the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers' Cadre) Act (CEI Act) of 2019.
The panel was formed by the MoE in April to suggest measures for implementation of reservation rules in admission and faculty selection at IITs. The report, however, does not remark on the implementation of reservations in admissions to undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
The report said, "To compete with other top institutions in the world in terms of excellence, output, research, and teaching, a system emphasising targeted goals over a period of time, rather than specific quotas, to address diversity issues through outreach campaigns, targeted recruitment, etc, is recommended,"
The report added that the "IITs ought to be listed under the Schedule to the CEI Act, 2019, for exemption from reservations." Currently, only eight institutions -- the Homi Bhabha National Institute and its five constituent institutes - Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Space Physics Laboratory and Indian Institute of Remote Sensing are included in the list.