Eight-member committee makes Recommendations on Reservation in IITs

Eight-member committee makes Recommendations on Reservation in IITs

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II – Education

In news

• Recently, an eight-member committee, appointed by the government made recommendations for effective implementation of reservation in students’ admissions and faculty recruitment in the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). 

Key takeaways 

• It was chaired by IIT Delhi’s Director
• It had representatives of secretaries of the departments of Social Justice and Empowerment, Tribal Affairs, Department of Personnel and Training, Persons with Disabilities, among others.
• Its report was submitted to the Ministry of Education in June 2020. 
• It has been made available under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 also.

Recommendations

• Being established and recognised as institutions of national importance, IITs should be added to the list of “Institutions of Excellence” mentioned in the Schedule to the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Act, 2019 (CEI Act).
• Implementation of reservation policies for all categories including Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) be restricted just to Assistant Professor Grade I and Grade II and not for levels above.
• Vacancies not filled in a particular year due to non-availability, be de-reserved in the subsequent year.
• Conduct of special recruitment drives to attract candidates from reserved categories.
• A system emphasising targeted goals over a period of time and not specific quotas be followed so that IITs can compete with other top institutions in the world in terms of excellence, output, research and teaching.
• The panel proposes a two-year Research Assistantship for students from reserved categories aspiring to join PhD programmes.