IITs have to live with reality of faculty quotas: Kapil Sibal

Ending all speculation on faculty reservation in the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Union human resources development minister Kapil Sibal today said quotas in faculty recruitment at the institutes were a fact and these institutions "have to work with it".

"Faculty reservation in IITs is a fact," Sibal told all 12 IITs in the country at a programme at IIT Delhi. "Any attempt to exempt (it) is infructuous."

The comment came after IIT Delhi director Surendra Prasad said: "Sir, we are a little bit confused on faculty reservation. There is mental strain among us about it. We are confused."

In response, Sibal made his stand clear and added that "as we move bottom upward, the problem will be solved. You have to work with it."

The HRD ministry last year had advocated implementation of 15% reservation for scheduled castes, 7.5% for scheduled tribes, and 27% for other backward classes in faculty recruitments. But all IITs across the country have opposed it.

Sibal said the IITs might be confused about the issue but not the government. "We are not confused. The issue must be handled with sensitivity and care. No institution can live in isolation. It has to take everyone along."

Though most of the IITs expressed their displeasure at the development, many refused to give an official comment. IIT Madras director MS Ananth said, "We are going to debate the issue."