The Congress party claimed that there was a “conspiracy” to abolish reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs in higher educational institutions. They claim that the Modi government is only engaging in “symbolic politics” on issues faced by Dalits, backward classes and tribals. Following the controversy, the JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) announced a protest against the UGC president. M. Jagadesh Kumar on Monday.
Responding to these concerns, UGC Chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar said that reservations for reserved category positions in Central Educational Institutions (CEIs) have never been canceled in the past and will be canceled in the future as well. I made it clear that there was no such thing. The Ministry of Education also confirmed this position and said that the Reservation in Central Educational Institutions Act, 2019 prohibits de-reservation of reserved posts. The ministry has directed all CEIs to strictly adhere to the provisions of the law while filling vacancies.
The new draft guidelines proposed by the UGC states that vacancies reserved for SC, ST or OBC candidates cannot be filled by candidates outside these categories. However, under certain conditions, reserved vacancies may be declared unreserved through the unreservation procedure and subsequently filled as unreserved vacancies.
The guidelines further provide that in the case of direct recruitment, de-reservation of reserved vacancies is generally prohibited.However, in exceptional cases where it is not in the public interest to leave a Group A service vacancy vacant, the University may Interested parties may propose cancellation of the reservation. The proposal must outline the efforts made to fill the position, the reasons why the position cannot remain vacant, and the justification for dereservation. For Group C or D vacancies, proposals must be submitted to the University Board. Meanwhile, for Group A or B vacancies, it must be submitted to the Ministry of Education for the necessary approvals.
In case of promotion, if sufficient number of SC and ST candidates eligible for promotion are not available for the reserved vacancy, the vacancy may be unreserved and filled by candidates from other communities . In such cases, the UGC and the Ministry of Education have the power to approve de-reservation of reserved vacancies, provided that certain conditions are met.
The draft guidelines also emphasize that approval for cancellation of reservations must be supported by the university's SC and ST liaison officers. If there is a disagreement between the appointing authority and the contact person, the Ministry of Personnel and Training will be consulted for guidance.
As stated by the UGC Chairman, it is important for higher education institutions to ensure that all backlog positions in reserved categories are filled through concerted efforts.
The Ministry of Education and UGC aim to address concerns and gather feedback from stakeholders before finalizing the guidelines.
