Parliament Question: Recruitment of Reserved Vacancies in Central Universities/IITs

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3814 ANSWERED ON- 16.03.2026 RECRUITMENT OF RESERVED VACANCIES IN CENTRAL UNIVERSITIES/IITs 3814. Km. Sudha R: Shri Raja A: Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state: (a) the list of Central Universities across the country along with the amount of funds allocated and released every year since 2020, university-wise; (b) whether it is a fact that only a few faculty members for the reserved categories were recruited in the Central Universities (CUs) while many teaching posts are lying vacant, if so, the details of the overall teaching and non-teaching faculty positions and vacancies in each university clearly indicating the number of Forward Community members and those from Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) categories amongst them; (c) whether it is a fact that IIT has recruited only a few faculty members from the reserved categories to fill up reserved vacancies whereas more than 50 per cent posts are still lying vacant, if so, the status of faculty position, vacant and filled including those of reserved categories, institution-wise; (d) the reasons for the shortfall in recruitment of General, OBC, SC and ST candidates in CUs/IITs; (e) whether the Government has any proposal to conduct special recruitment drives to fill all the vacant posts in IITs and CUs particularly those of reserved categories, if so, the details thereof and the time frame fixed for such recruitment; and (f) if not, the reasons therefor? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR) (a) to (f): There are 47 Central Universities running in regular mode under the purview of Ministry of Education. The list is attached as Annexure-A. The details of funds released to Central Universities since 2020 are given below: Year 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 Amount 863908.44 895344.58 1128854.50 1254642.58 1605881.12 (₹ in Lakh) Central Universities (CUs) and Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are statutory autonomous organizations established under respective Acts of Parliament and governed by provisions of the Acts/Statutes/Ordinance/Regulations made thereunder. Occurring of vacanciesand filling thereof is a continuous process. The vacancies arise due to retirement, resignation and additional requirements on account of enhanced students’ strength. 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. 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. IITs also issue rolling Advertisements for faculty recruitment, which are open throughout the year for all candidates, who fulfill the required qualifications and experience for faculty positions in IITs. IITs follow Flexi Cadre System in faculty positions to meet their specialized requirements, and do not rigidly divide the faculty strength into levels or departments, hence ensuring flexibility to recognize and recruit talent. Further, IITs have conducted special recruitment drives to fill the vacant posts. Ministry of Education and University Grants Commission (UGC) regularly monitor the institutions and the Central Universities have been directed to fill up the vacancies in regular mode. Further, through special recruitment drives started in September 2022, more than 30715 teaching and non-teaching positions including 3692 SC posts, 1561 ST posts and 6451 OBC posts have been filled in the Centrally Funded Higher Educational Institutions (CFHEIs). ****