**Executive Summary**
This document is the answer to Unstarred Question No. 187 in the Lok Sabha, answered on 01.12.2025, concerning reservation policies for teaching and non-teaching staff in Central Universities. It provides information on the actions taken by the government to address vacancies and improve the representation of SC, ST, and OBC categories. The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers Cadre) Act, 2019, is a key policy mentioned.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Central Universities Governance:**
* Central Universities are autonomous organizations governed by Central Acts of Parliament.
* The filling of vacancies is a continuous process due to retirement, resignation, and increased student enrollment.
* **Reservation Policy:**
* The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers Cadre) Act, 2019, notified on 09.07.2019, provides reservations for SCs, STs, OBCs, and EWS in the Teacher's Cadre.
* The Act treats the University/Central Educational Institution as a unit for reservation purposes.
* Reservation for OBCs was extended to Associate Professor and Professor levels from 2019.
* Unfilled reserved posts are readvertised as backlog vacancies until filled.
* **Recruitment Process:**
* UGC launched CU-Chayan on 02.05.2023, a unified recruitment portal, for Central Universities.
* Central Universities are instructed to publish rolling advertisements.
* The mandatory Ph.D. condition for Assistant Professors has been relaxed.
* Selection Committees, with representatives from SC/ST/OBC/minority/women/differently-able categories, ensure transparent and objective selection.
* **Government Oversight and Recent Recruitment:**
* The Ministry of Education and UGC monitor institutions and direct Central Universities to fill vacancies.
* Special recruitment drives starting in September 2022 resulted in filling over 12600 teaching and non-teaching positions, including 1648 SC, 841 ST, 2700 OBC, and 588 EWS posts.
**Impact Analysis**
**Central Universities/Institutions**
* **Impact:** Central Universities are required to adhere to the provisions of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers Cadre) Act, 2019 and UGC guidelines for recruitment.
* **Action Required:** Universities must utilize the CU-Chayan portal, publish rolling advertisements, ensure representation on Selection Committees, and actively participate in recruitment drives to fill vacancies, especially those reserved for SC, ST, OBC, and EWS categories.
**Applicants (SC, ST, OBC, EWS)**
* **Impact:** The reservation policies and recruitment drives increase opportunities for candidates from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Economically Weaker Sections.
* **Action Required:** Applicants should regularly check university websites and the CU-Chayan portal for vacancy announcements and apply through the prescribed channels.
Key Entities Referenced
Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers Cadre) Act, 2019: Act providing reservation of posts in direct recruitment for SCs, STs, OBCs, and EWS in the Teacher's Cadre of Central Educational Institutions.
Ministry of Education: The ministry responsible for the administration of Central Universities and implementation of reservation policies.
University Grants Commission (UGC): Regulatory body that monitors institutions and directs Central Universities to fill vacancies.
Central Universities: Autonomous institutions established under Central Acts of Parliament and subject to the described reservation policies.
CU-Chayan: Unified recruitment portal launched by UGC for listing vacancies across all Central Universities.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 187
ANSWERED ON 01.12.2025
Reservation in Teaching and Non-Teaching Staff in Central Universities
187. Smt. Kanimozhi Karunanidhi:
Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:
(a) the total number of teaching and non-teaching staff currently employed in Central Universities
along with a category-wise breakdown of General, EWS, SC, ST, OBC, and female staffs,
university/institute-wise;
(b) the details of recruitment for teaching and non-teaching positions conducted during the last five
years, year-wise, specifying the category-wise vacancies and the number of people appointed;
(c) the reasons for the low ratio of teaching and non- teaching staff from SC, ST, OBC in Central
Universities with respect to reservation criteria; and
(d) the details of the steps taken by the Government to increase the ratio of SC, ST and OBC
professors in Central Universities and the outcome thereof?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
(DR SUKANTA MAJUMDAR)
(a) to (d): Central Universities under the purview of Ministry of Education are statutory autonomous
organizations established under respective Central Acts of Parliament and governed by provisions
of the Acts and Statutes, Ordinances made thereunder. Occurring of vacancies and 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.
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 have been directed to fill up the vacancies in regular mode.
Further, through special recruitment drives started in September 2022, more than 12600 teaching
and non-teaching positions including 1648 SC posts, 841 ST posts, 2700 OBC posts and 588 EWS
posts have been filled in the Central Universities.
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