Parliament Question: Professor posts for SC, ST and OBC categories in Central Universities

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3719 ANSWERED ON 25.03.2026 Professor posts for SC, ST and OBC categories in Central Universities 3719 Prof. Manoj Kumar Jha: Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state: (a) the total number of sanctioned Professor, Associate Professor and Assistant Professor positions for SC, ST and OBC categories in Central universities as of the latest available date; (b) the number of vacant positions in each reserved category and the percentage of vacancy compared to general category vacancies; (c) the number of complaints of caste-based discrimination filed by SC/ST/OBC students and faculty in Central universities during the last five years, year-wise; and (d) the number of such complaints where disciplinary action was taken against the accused and the nature of action taken? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR SUKANTA MAJUMDAR) (a) to (d): Government of India has substantially increased the sanctioned faculty posts to 18951 in 2025 from 16324 in 2014. Despite 16% increase in total sanctioned faculty posts, the faculty vacancies reduced from 36.04% in 2014 to 25.4% by 2026. There is a similar increase of 52% in sanctioned faculty posts for SC, ST, OBC categories from 4701 in 2014 to 7153 in 2025. Concerted efforts have also been made to fill up the vacant teaching posts and there is 141.7% increase in filled posts in the reserved category faculty posts from 1909 in 2014 to 4615 in 2026. The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers Cadre) Act, 2019 has been notified on 09.07.2019 which provides for reservation of posts in direct recruitment for persons belonging to Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in the Teacher’s Cadre of Central Educational Institutions established, maintained, or aided by the Central Government. This Act removes the difficulty regarding the reservation of posts in appointment by treating University/Central Educational Institution as a unit for the purpose of reservation instead of individual departments. Further, by this Act from the year 2019, reservation was provided to Other Backward Class (OBC) in recruitment in Associate Professor and Professor level. Earlier reservation to OBC was only in Assistant Professor level. Posts reserved for a particular category can only be filled by eligible persons of that particular category; any unfilled post belonging to any of the reserved category will continue to be readvertised as backlog vacancies in that particular reserved category in next cycle(s) of recruitment until filled.Central Universities are statutory autonomous organisations established under the respective Central Acts of Parliament and governed by the provisions of the Acts, Statutes, Ordinances made thereunder. Administrative and academic decisions are taken by the Central Universities with the approval of statutory bodies in accordance with statutory provisions and the relevant regulations/guidelines of the University Grants Commission (UGC). Occurrence of vacancies and filling up of posts is a continuous process. Applications are invited through an open advertisement(s); the eligible candidates can apply. Selection Committees, duly constituted for recruitment under the relevant provisions, make recommendations regarding suitability of the candidates for the post(s) and accordingly, appointments are made on the basis of the recommendations of the Selection Committees. The UGC Regulation on “Minimum Qualifications for appointment of teachers and other academic staff in Universities and Colleges, 2018” provide for a transparent and objective selection procedure. As per said UGC Regulation 2018, Selection Committee for appointment of teachers among others consists of representatives of SC/ST/OBC/minority/women/differently-able categories, if any of candidates from any of this category is an applicant. Ministry of Education and University Grants Commission (UGC) regularly monitor the institutions and the Central Universities are advised from time to time to fill up the vacancies in regular mode. Through special recruitment drives started in September 2022, more than 8460 teaching positions including 1139 SC posts, 555 ST posts and 1960 OBC posts have been filled in the Central Universities. Further, the UGC launched a unified recruitment portal i.e. CU-Chayan on 02.05.2023 to provide a common platform for listing of vacancies/ advertisements/ jobs across all Central Universities. The Central Universities have also been instructed to publish rolling advertisements on their websites throughout the year to address the difficulties faced in getting eligible candidates. Further, the mandatory condition of PhD for Assistant Professor has also been relaxed. Central Universities are sensitised from time to time to ensure that faculty and officials refrain from discriminatory acts, establish mechanisms for lodging complaints through websites or complaint registers, take prompt action against erring individuals and are also encouraged to constitute committees to address complaints of discrimination received from SC/ST/OBC students, teachers, and non-teaching staff. Ministry of Education and University Grants Commission (UGC) have taken several measures to prevent caste-based discrimination and to safeguard the interests of students coming from disadvantaged groups, including setting up of Students Grievance Redressal Committees (SGRCs) and appointment of Ombudspersons, Establishment of Equal Opportunity Cells, provisions of counselling support through counselling centres and guidelines for curbing of ragging and prevention of sexual harassment. Various scholarship and fellowship schemes specifically for SC/ST students have also been running and remedial coaching centres for SC/ST/OBC & women students have also been established. Additional welfare measures such as concessions/relaxations such as fee concession, age relaxation and relaxation in qualifying criteria have been implemented for Candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Categories in UGC NET. *****