Indian Trends

NUMBER 53, FALL 2008

Caste, Class, and Quality at the Indian Institutes of Technology

Asha Gupta
Asha Gupta, is Director of the Directorate of Hindi Medium Implementation, University of Delhi, India. She has been a college principal and professor. E-mail: ashagupta3452@gmail.com.

The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), established through an act of the Parliament and aided by the central government, have been playing a pivotal role in technological manpower development and research programs. Entrance to the IITs is made through the Joint Entrance Examination. Every year, about 300,000 students appear for just 3,000 seats. Though it is very tough to get admission into the IITs, these institutions remain the most sought after.

A conflict is now under way between the seven IIT directors and the Ministry of Human Resource Development over the June 9, 2008 order asking the institutes to implement a 15 percent quota for the Scheduled Castes, 7.5 percent for the Scheduled Tribes, and 27 percent for the Other Backward Classes in the faculty from 2008/09 academic session. Usually the term Other Backward Classes implies "socially and educationally backward classes." According to the 1931 caste-based census, there are 2,399 backward castes or communities in India.

Though the reservation policy for the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students at the IITs existed since 1973, the ruling UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government directed the University Grants Commission to extend reservation to lecturers and professors in all centrally aided institutions except the minority institutions in 2005. In order to pave the way for reservation, the 93rd constitutional amendment was also passed in December 2005. In January 2006, the Central Educational Institutions (Reservations in Admissions) Act came into force, making it mandatory to reserve 27 percent of seats for the Other Backward Classes in all centrally aided institutions, including the IITs. The June 9, 2008 order extended the reservation to the appointment of faculty as well.

All the IITs provide reservation for these students. They also offer reservation for administrative posts ranging from the most junior employees to deputy registrars. Now they are required to reserve posts for lecturers and assistant professors in science and technology and up to the professor's level in management, social sciences, and humanities.

It is hard to imagine, however, that faculty will use the caste factor to get entry into the prestigious and elitist IITs. Though the order was signed by Seema Raj, director of technical education at the Ministry of Human Resource Development on the recommendations made by the standing committee of the IIT Council, many faculty members believe that the order has been thrust upon the IITs by the ministry itself. According to them, matters of such strategic importance should have first been discussed in the IIT Council, but in this situation a decision was made without having consulted the stakeholders. The ministry, on the other hand, has taken the stand that the IITs have been skirting around the reservation policy despite the fact that they were never exempted from it.

Reservations about Reservation
IIT directors have expressed their dissent against reservation for faculty appointments. They are insisting that the UPA government should revoke its decision. Whereas the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bhabha Atomic Research Center, and the Harish Chandra Research Institute are exempt from reservation—for being "institutes of national importance"—it has been made mandatory for the IITs despite their being of equal reputation, if not more. The question arises why should there be reservation only for the position of lecturers and Assistant Professors at the IITs in the case of science and technology and why should there be reservation up to professor's level in the case of the humanities and social sciences. These divisions seem to be an outcome of the "enclave mentality" despite the fact that the IITs are now trying to bridge the gap between the sciences and humanities by offering some more interdisciplinary programs at the master's and PhD levels.

The IITs remain a small number of centers of academic excellence amidst the plethora of mediocre higher education institutions in India. Beside the faculty, the IIT alumni and current students have also expressed anguish about the quota for faculty. They believe that the IITs' reputation consists of the excellent teaching by highly qualified faculty. To them, reservation for faculty seems a politically motivated decision that will seriously ruin the interests of the students.

The existing IITs already suffer a shortage of about 900 qualified faculty. The government is now planning to start 10 more IITs and Indian Institutes of Management during the 2007?2012 five-year plan to promote technical and management education in India. Instead of providing incentives to the highly qualified sector, faculty reservation policy is likely to dilute the teaching and research standards.

Policy Goals
Supporters of reservation argue that in a caste-ridden and hierarchical society like India it is desirable to find some ways of providing social justice and economic opportunities to all those who were deprived due to social and educational backwardness. Reservation policy is usually deployed to win over the support of the marginalized or underrepresented sectors of society. Reservations or quotas are seen as important instruments for affirmative action.

Whereas affirmative action remains open-ended and without any fixed number, reservations or quotas can have any fixed number or percentage. The latter are generally justified in the name of equity, social justice, or democracy. Reservation for faculty positions at the IITs can be seen as a peculiar outcome of deeply entrenched caste-based discriminations in Indian sociocultural, political, and psychological upbringing. As a political corrective, reservation can be seen as a short-term measure but certainly not a panacea. We need to find a balance between equity and quality in the long run.

[Online] Available: http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/soe/cihe/newsletter/Number53/p20_Gupta.htm