More than 3,500 faculty vacancies across the 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) were filled between September 2022 and May 2026 under a government “mission mode” recruitment drive, the Centre told the Lok Sabha. However, the latest response did not provide the actual faculty-student ratio for individual IITs.
The issue was raised by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who sought details on whether a faculty-to-student ratio had been prescribed for IITs, the actual ratio at each institute, faculty strength over the past five years and the number of sanctioned, filled and vacant posts.
In its response, the Ministry of Education said recruitment and filling of vacancies was a “continuous process”. Vacancies arise due to retirements and resignations, as well as the creation of new positions as IITs expand student enrolment and academic programmes.
The ministry said all Central Higher Educational Institutions were advised in September 2022 to fill vacancies in “mission mode”. Between September 2022 and May 2026, IITs filled more than 3,500 faculty vacancies. Around 460 visiting faculty members are also currently engaged across the IIT system.
The government said IITs also use guest, adjunct and visiting faculty, as well as Professors of Practice, to strengthen teaching and bring industry expertise into classrooms.
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An earlier Lok Sabha response in August 2025 had stated that faculty posts in IITs were sanctioned based on a 1:10 faculty-to-student ratio. However, the latest response did not disclose whether individual IITs currently meet that benchmark.
The distinction is significant because filling 3,500 vacancies does not necessarily establish that the prescribed ratio has been achieved. The actual ratio would depend on both the number of faculty members in position and student enrolment at each institute.
The recruitment drive follows a longstanding shortage of faculty in IITs. In August 2022, a parliamentary response had put the number of vacant teaching positions across the 23 IITs at 4,596.
The issue had also been flagged earlier. In 2016, the faculty-student ratio across IITs was reported at around 15:1, compared with the desirable 10:1 ratio. The IIT Council had subsequently considered a proposal to count five PhD scholars as equivalent to one faculty member for calculating the ratio, citing their role in teaching undergraduate students.
The latest parliamentary response indicates progress in filling vacancies but leaves unanswered how close individual IITs are to meeting the prescribed faculty-student ratio.
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