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Quota could lead to zero SC, ST, OBC faculty Numbers: Government to SC

By Anubhuti Vishnoi

Data cited by HRD ministry shows professor-level posts for reserved candidates will cease to exist in 21 central universities.

 

NEW DELHI: The Centre, faced with political pressure on the university quota row, has filed a review petition in the Supreme Court packing it with 13 pages of data to show how the apex court’s January order will work “against the interest of SCs/STs”, amount to “grave miscarriage of justice and will jeopardise the rights of SCs/STs & OBCs”.

The Union Human Resource Development (HRD)  ministry has submitted, in its petition filed last week , that the total SC/ST/OBC representation is expected to come down by more than half ––from 2,663 seats to 1,241 in a year if the new faculty quota system is implemented.

 

The 31 annexures attached to the Centre’s petition provides data collected from 21 Central Universities to show the impact of changing the reservation formula as directed by courts.

 

This data shows that in 21 Central Universities, SC/ST and OBC representation will fall to zero at the professor-level if faculty reservations are implemented. Under the new format, the department would be considered as a ‘unit’ for calculating reserved category posts as upheld by the court.
There will be zero reserved category seats at the associate professor-level in 16 of the 21 Central Universities. In 13 Central Universities, ST representation at the assistant professor-level will come down to zero, the annexures, accessed by ET, show.

The petition notes that Article 16 (4) of the Constitution empowers the central government to make special provisions for reservation in appointments or posts in favour of the SC/ST community if they are “not adequately represented in the services under the state”. Under Article 335 of the Constitution, the state is also bound to consider the claims of the SC/ST community in making appointments to services and posts under the state.

 

source: Economic Times

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Anubhuti Vishnoi

Anubhuti Vishnoi writes extensively on policy and politics with special focus on the sectors of education, environment and culture. She started her journalistic career at The Indian Express where she spent a decade with in-depth reporting on a range of areas from aviation and infrastructure to social sector concerns. She is currently a Senior Assistant Editor at The Economic Times.