End To Reservation In Educational Institutes In India? New Draft UGC Guidelines Explained

The University Grants Commission (UGC) recently released draft guidelines regarding the reservation policy of the Government of India in Higher Education Institutes.

The UGC draft guidelines had proposed that any vacancy reserved for SC, ST and OBC candidates can be declared unreserved if enough candidates from these categories are not available.

But after the guidelines drew ire from various sections, the Ministry of Education (MoE) on Sunday clarified that no reserved posts can be de-reserved.

The UGC chairman M Jagadesh Kumar also posted: "This is to clarify that there has been no de-reservation of reserved category positions in Central Educational Institutions in the past and there is going to be no such de-reservation."

UGC chairman M Jagadesh Kumar

What are the recent UGC draft guidelines on reservation?

The 'Guidelines for Implementation of the Reservation Policy of the Government of India in Higher Education Institutes (HEIs)' was shared in the public domain for feedback from stakeholders.

The new draft guidelines stated, "A vacancy reserved for SC or ST or OBC cannot be filled by a candidate other than an SC or ST or OBC candidate, as the case may be. "However, a reserved vacancy may be declared unreserved by following the procedure of de-reservation where after, it can be filled as an unreserved vacancy."

"There is a general ban on de-reservation of reserved vacancies in case of direct recruitment. However, in rare and exceptional cases when a vacancy in a Group A service cannot be allowed to remain vacant in public interest, the University concerned may prepare a proposal for de-reservation of the vacancy giving the following information: The proposal will be required to list -- efforts made to fill up the post; reasons why it cannot be allowed to remain vacant and justification for de-reservation."

According to the guidelines, the proposal for de-reservation in case of Group C or D should be submitted to the Executive Council of the University and in case of Group A or B, to the Ministry of Education. The proposal should give full details, for necessary approval. After receiving the approval, the post may be filled and reservation may be carried forward.

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In case of promotion too there is a chance of de-reservation. If sufficient numbers of SC and ST candidates fit for promotion against reserved vacancies are not available, then such vacancies may be de-reserved and filled by the candidates of other communities, UGC states.

The power to accord approval to the de-reservation of the reserved vacancies in such cases will be delegated to UGC and the Ministry of Education if certain conditions are met.

"The proposal can be considered if no candidate belonging to the category for which the vacancy is reserved is available within the zone of consideration or extended zone of consideration or eligible for promotion in the feeder cadre specified in the recruitment rules.

"The approval for de-reservation has been seen and concurred in by the liaison officer for SCST of the university. The proposal for de-reservation is agreed by the appropriate authority in UGC and the Ministry of Education.

"In case of disagreement between the appointing authority and the liaison officer for SC, ST of the university, the advice of the Department of Personnel and Training is obtained and implemented," the guidelines added.

Why has the draft guidelines on reservation drawn criticism?

The JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) has announced a protest against UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar on the issue on Monday.

The Congress claimed that there is a purported "plot" to terminate the reservation provided to Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in positions within higher education institutions. They asserted that the Modi government is merely engaging in "symbolic politics" regarding the concerns of Dalits, backward classes, and tribals.

What is India's reservation policy?

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The Reservation Policy in India involves allocating a specific percentage of seats (up to a maximum of 50%) for particular classes, such as Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward classes, etc., in government educational institutions, government jobs, and other related areas.

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