OBC Reservations for Faculty Denied

Jawaharlal Nehru had observed, “A University stands …for the adventure of ideas and for the search of truth.” However, if the very university named after Nehru (the Jawaharlal Nehru University–JNU) is not allowed to let voices from different sections/categories, including the faculty, be heard then the “adventures of ideas and the search of truth” will exclude many voices from Bharat or India. On 8 December 2015, in reply to a right to information (RTI) query, the JNU authorities had categorically stated that it has only 29 faculty members at the level of assistant professor who are from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) out of the total of 600-odd teachers.

The RTI reply also said that there are no faculty members from the OBC category at the associate or professor levels at JNU. As per the reservation policy of the Government of India, 27% (OBC) posts must be reserved at each cadre level (that is, assistant professors; associate professors and professors). Exemptions from these can be made only for certain scientific and technical positions and only after taking prior approval of the concerned ministry (DoPT OM No 36012/27/94, 13 May 1994). The OBC reservation (at all levels of teaching positions) is implemented in premier institutions of higher learning such as the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, a few central universities and the Union Public Service Commission, among others.