How many teachers from reserved categories are at IIT Bombay? RTI reveals the figures

According to information obtained via RTI, IIT Bombay has a total of 1,225 sanctioned teaching posts. Of these, 775 positions are filled, while 450 remain vacant. Data from September 2026 indicates there are 412 professors.

IIT Bombay is one of the country’s premier technical institutes, where a large number of students and teachers aspire to study and teach. However, the institute recently made headlines following the suicide of a student, Sahil Wakode. The issue of caste-based discrimination surfaced in this case, sparking discussions regarding SC/ST teachers at IIT Bombay. Furthermore, data revealed through RTI regarding the number of teachers from SC, ST, OBC, and EWS categories has raised questions. Specifically, the September 2026 data shows that out of the 775 filled teaching positions, only 84 teachers belong to reserved categories—meaning their representation in the total faculty is merely 11 percent. This information came to light through an RTI application filed by Gaud Kiran Kumar, an RTI activist and Chairperson of the All India OBC Students Association, who had sought the data for academic research.

According to the RTI information, IIT Bombay has a total of 1,225 sanctioned teaching posts. Of these, 775 are filled, while 450 are vacant. The September 2026 data includes 412 professors; among them, 5 belong to the SC category and 6 to the OBC category, while there are no professors from the ST category. There are a total of 363 faculty members at the Associate Professor and Assistant Professor levels; among them, 29 belong to the SC category, 8 to the ST category, and 35 to the OBC category. According to RTI data, the number of SC faculty members increased by one between February and September.

Higher Representation at the Assistant Professor Level

The RTI data also reveals that the number of teachers from reserved categories is higher at the Assistant and Associate Professor levels compared to the Professor level. In February, across all three faculty levels at IIT Bombay, there were 33 teachers from the SC category. At that time, the ST category comprised one Associate Professor and seven Assistant Professors, while there were 41 teachers from the OBC category.

EWS Included in the Count of 84 Teachers

The disclosed data includes the EWS category alongside SC, ST, and OBC. The total number of teachers across these reserved categories stands at 84. This figure represents approximately 11 percent of the 775 filled teaching positions. This information has come to light at a time when representation of reserved categories at IIT Bombay is a subject of discussion. Gaud Kiran Kumar, who filed the RTI, has also raised questions regarding the number of teachers from SC, ST, and OBC categories in premier educational institutions.