Of the 23 IITs, only 10 were able to identify 342 vacancies in these categories for positions of Professors, Associate Professors and Assistant Professors. | Photo Credit: B. Velankanni Raj Despite a year-long mission mode recruitment drive to hire faculty for reserved category positions at the elite Indian Institutes of Technology and Central Universities, just over 30% of identified vacancies were filled, the Education Ministry told Parliament this week. In the one year between September 5, 2021, and September 5, 2022, 23 IITs and 45 Central Universities across the country were directed to conduct a mission mode recruitment to fill up vacancies in teaching positions reserved for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (SC/ST/OBC). During this period, 1,439 vacancies were identified, against which just 449 recruitments were made. Of the 45 Central Universities, 33 had identified a total of 1,097 vacancies in these categories, of which just 212 were filled. Even among these 33 Universities, the data revealed that 18 of them had recruited no SC/ST/OBC teaching faculty at all despite having identified vacancies.  …