On August 1, 2023, a reply to a starred question in Parliament on the shortfall in the recruitment of professors belonging to Other Backward Classes (OBC) in higher educational institutes (HEIs) gained significant attention. The reply, which was based on annual data published by the University Grants Commission (UGC), stated that only 4% of the professors recruited were from the OBC category.
It is important to note that these numbers are subject to interpretation. A clumsy interpretation would be to understand this as a far lower number when compared with the constitutionally mandated 27% reservation for OBCs in government jobs and HEIs. This is the common interpretation, which shows HEIs in poor light.
Table 1 | The table shows the total sanctioned posts for teaching staff at various levels (professor, associate professor and assistant professor). The table also lists the category-wise teaching positions filled. The share of OBCs of the total posts filled is highlighted in %.
Assist. Prof: Assistant professor; Assoc. Prof: Associate professor; Total posts: Total posts filled by teaching staff
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The numbers could also be interpreted in a different way. There were only nine professors (0.85%) and 38 associate professors (1.41%) in the OBC category as on March 31, 2020, which rose to 60 professors (4.5%) and 187 associate professors (6.5%) as on March 31, 2023 (Table 1). This leads to an increase of about seven times and five times in professors and associate professors from the OBC category, respectively, within three years. This interpretation paints a rosy picture of HEIs.
Which of these interpretations is correct? Perhaps both are correct, yet both suffer from statistical slackness. This issue is important, Hence, it merits further understanding of the details of promotion/selection to the post of professor and associate professor in HEIs.
Before progressing further into the discussion, it is noteworthy to take into account the following facts. First, reservation for OBCs at the level of professors and associate professors was implemented after the introduction of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Act, 2019. Usually, it takes time to frame rules. The appointment process takes some time as well. It can be safely assumed that the results of this policy change would have taken shape only after 2020.
Second, under the Career Advancement Scheme (CAS), the minimum teaching experience required for promotion to the post of professor and associate professor is 15 and 12 years, respectively. Reservation for OBCs at the entry-level (assistant professor) was implemented in 2008. So, it is natural that those OBC candidates recruited after 2008 would be eligible for promotion to the post of associate professor in 2021 and to the post of professor in 2024 under this particular scheme.
Last, prior to 2020, a faulty 13-point roster was being used to earmark the posts reserved at all levels of teaching. This resulted in fewer posts for all reserved categories, including OBCs. It was later replaced with a more equitable 200-point roster in the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Act, 2019.
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Due to these reasons, the share of total OBC faculty at any level (professor, associate professor and assistant professor) for any year will always be less than the constitutionally mandated 27%. Similarly, a comparison in appointments made prior to March 31, 2020 with those recruited after this date will necessarily show a high increase.
Perhaps a prudent way of assessing the numbers is to compare the share of professors and associate professors appointed/promoted from the OBC category after 2020 with the constitutionally mandated 27% of reservations for OBCs. In statistical parlance, it is fair to compare the marginal change, that is the share of OBC faculty appointed and/or promoted between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2023, rather than comparing the share of the OBC faculty as on March 31, 2023, with the constitutionally mandated 27% reservation.
Though we do not have complete figures related to OBC faculty appointed for all central universities between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2023, data on two central universities for this period can shed some light on the issue. At the University of Delhi, three out of the seven professors (43%), seven out of the 24 associate professors (29%), and 60 out of the 202 assistant professors (30%) appointed were OBCs during the above period. Similarly, at Jawaharlal Nehru University, another central university, during the same period, four out of the 49 professors (8%), 15 out of the 55 associate professors (27%) and 20 out of the 64 assistant professors (30%) were from the OBC category. This indicates that the difference between reservation mandated by the Constitution and actual implementation is not very different if we take the marginal change. However, it does not imply that all institutions are putting in similar efforts. For instance, the IITs and IIMs have much more to do on this count, since the share of OBCs at all levels of teaching was just 3.18% in all IITs and less than 0.1% for professors and associate professors.
The table shows that the share of OBCs in total filled vacancies has increased from 2020 at all levels (professor, associate professor and assistant professor). However, in the case of professors, associate professors, and assistant professors, it would roughly take 19, 22 and 35 years, respectively, to reach the constitutionally mandated 27% reservation for OBCs. This implies that the percentage of professors, associate professors, and assistant professors from the OBC category will be around the mandated 27% in 2039, 2042, and 2043, respectively, when one cycle of jobs for all levels will be complete.
Anish Gupta teaches Economics at the Delhi School of Economics
Source: Annual reports of the University Grants Commission and Lok Sabha answers
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