Mumbai: Around 300 students, 50 alumni accompanied by faculty members of the Indian Institutes of Technology, in Mumbai and New Delhi carried out a peaceful protest against the union human resource development (HRD) ministry's recent order on implementing reservations for faculty appointment.

In Bangalore, which does  not havee an IIT campus, former students held a public protest near the popular Forum mall to mobilise public opinion at he government's move. 

The HRD ministry had directed the IITs to implement 15 per cent quota for scheduled castes, 7.5 per cent for scheduled tribes and 27 per cent for other backward castes in the faculty.

Protesting students and faculty argued that caste-based reservation would adversely effect one of the country's premier institutions.

A member of faculty said, "Any such move without consulting the IIT Council is completely unacceptable. This move is an infliction on the members of IIT faculty who have worked hard and made sacrifices to maintain the high education standards which IITs are known for."

This protest is not only to express serious displeasure on behalf of the students, faculty and alumni but also against any such decision by the government which implements caste-based reservations in academics. The excellence of all such institutes is based on high standards of merit, which will only go down with such directives.

The Supreme Court had clearly directed that graduation be used as a basis for determining backwardness, implying that graduates should no more be considered backward, the protestors pointed out.

As the minimum qualification for an IIT professor is a PhD, they posed, do they remain backward even after acquirig a PhD? "This move marks a dooms day for the IITs which will crumble under government's pressure to compromise the on the quality of the faculty appointments," the protestors said.

As things stand, it is already difficult to find the right candidates to fill the faculty positions, because the IITs are not ready to compromise on quality.

The verdict is clearly that the quality of professors will be diluted if reservations are implemented. The government is playing with the autonomy of institutes of national importance especially IITs, IIMs and AIIMS they charged, saying, "What makes this act even more sinister than student reservation is the fact that a student is responsible just for himself where as a professor can impact the lives of several students."

An alumni of IIT says,"We stand in solidarity with the faculty and standing committee for IITs which has in the bet interest of its students opposed the directive. We are initiating an organised struggle against government's vote-bank motivated reservation policies, and request all citizens from all walks of life to support and join us in the cause."