36% teachers' posts vacant at 8 IITs, Varanasi centre worst hit: RTI reply

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As much as 36 per cent of sanctioned posts of faculty members are vacant across eight prominent Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), a reply under the Right to Information has revealed. 

The IITs of Mumbai (IIT Bombay), Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Chennai (IIT Madras), Roorkee and Varanasi currently have 65,824 students, but only 4,049 teachers against 6,318 approved posts.

The information was given by the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry in response to a query by Neemuch-based RTI activist Chandrashekhar Gaud.

Thus, with 2,269 vacancies, these IITs currently have one teacher for every 16 students. 

IIT (BHU) Varanasi, where 5,485 students are enrolled, has the worst shortfall, the reply revealed. 

Against 548 sanctioned posts of teachers, it has 265 faculty members, which means 52 per cent of posts are vacant.

Educationist and career adviser Jayantilal Bhandari said, "The number of IITs in the country has reached 23 now. It is worrisome that these eight major and among the oldest IITs are still facing teacher shortage. If these institutions are facing this situation, one can guess what would be the situation at newer IITs."

According to the HRD ministry data, IIT Kharagpur has 46 per cent posts vacant, IIT Roorkee 42 per cent, IIT Kanpur 37 per cent, IIT Delhi 29 per cent, IIT Madras 28 per cent, IIT Bombay 27 per cent and IIT Guwahati has 25 per cent posts vacant.