On December 13, during the ongoing winter parliamentary session, Sushil Kumar Modi raised questions regarding the representation of Economically Weaker Section (EWS) amongst the faculty of Associate professors in Central Universities. He further requested to know the number of approved positions for the EWS section amongst the faculty. He asked several questions regarding the report of the last few years to know about the vacant positions. Modi is an Indian politician from the Bharatiya Janata Party and is a member of parliament in the Rajya Sabha from Bihar.
These questions were presented to Dr. Subhas Sarkar, who is currently serving as the Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Education. The response given by him is very shocking, to say the least, as it does not include the data on the status of EWS in the higher education sector. The only data given by him provides that a total of 19,190 vacancies have been filled in Central Higher Education Institutions up to November 30, 2023. Out of these, 11,847 are faculty positions which includes SC/ST/OBC/PWD and EWS candidates. As one can notice, the data has not been segregated to provide the actual number faculty positions occupied by the any of the sections. Hence, from the data provided by the Union, it is not possible to know the share of EWS faculty for Associate professors in the Central Universities.
The complete answer can be read here: EWS faculty for Associate professors in Central Universities
The very next question raised in the Rajya Sabha was by Javed Ali Khan and Manoj Kumar Jha to Dr. Subhas Sarkar. Khan is a member of the Samajwadi party and a member of the Rajya Sabha, representing Uttar Pradesh. Jha currently serves as the national spokesperson of the Rashtriya Janata Dal. He is a member of the Rajya Sabha elected from Bihar.
The two ministers raised questions regarding the posts reserved for the EWS category for Associate Professors having remained vacant in Central Universities even after four years of its introduction by Government. Similar to the other question, Sarkar did not respond to the questions raised here too, and rather provided a vague data. In his answer, the union minister only mentioned that there are 930 sanctioned teaching positions in Central Universities under the purview of Ministry of Education in EWS category. The answer contained no details regarding the positions that have actually been filled by EWS candidates out of the said 930 positions.
The only relevant data provided for the EWS category was that out of the 6,080 positions filled under Mission Recruitment, 318 positions have been filled by EWS, signifying a 5.23% share. For the question regarding the failure of 31 universities to fill even a single position from the EWS category, the union minister provided no specific data or answer.
The responses given by Dr. Subhas Sarkar to queries raised by Sushil Kumar Modi, Javed Ali Khan, and Manoj Kumar Jha on the issue of representation of the EWS category amongst Associate Professors in Central Universities raise serious concerns. Despite pointed inquiries about the status of EWS representation in faculty positions, the answers provided lack the necessary specifics. The response also falls short in providing the crucial insights sought by the parliamentarians. The incomplete information hinders a comprehensive understanding of the actual representation and fulfilment of EWS quotas within the education sector, raising valid concerns about transparency and accountability in the system.
The complete answer can be read here: EWS Faculty Posts in Central Varsities
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