HRD ministry asks Delhi University to ensure colleges abide by reservation provisions

NEW DELHI: With complaints about the Delhi University’s efforts to implement the government’s reservation policy mounting, the human resource development ministry has stepped in. The ministry has written to the Delhi University asking it to ensure that reservation provisions as prescribed by law are adhered to in the university and its constituent colleges. The University has been asked to provide reservations on the basis of actual intake rather than sanctioned strength of a class, and to issue three additional cut-off lists to ensure that the OBC quota was filled.

Acting on a complaint by the Insight Group, comprising eight student organizations, including the All India backward Students Forum, Democratic Students Union, AISA, the ministry has asked the university to ensure that reservations are provided on actual intake of students rather than sanctioned strength.

At present students are admitted on the basis of lists prepared using a cut-off mark. Since the cut-off for the first list is generally high, and students apply for multiple courses, it is the practice that colleges put out a second and third list, with lower cutoffs to ensure that all the seats are filled. More often than not, given the use of cut-off to select students, colleges end up admitting more than their sanctioned strength since it can’t deny admission to a student who makes the cut off. These are mostly general category students. The admission process for students in the scheduled caste and tribes quota is done in a centralized manner. Since the admission process is centralized, the share of seats for Scheduled Castes, (15 per cent) and Scheduled Tribes (7.5 per cent) is calculated on the basis of the sanctioned strength. So if the actual; intake exceeds the sanctioned strength, the number of reserved seats should automatically go up, however this doesn’t happen in practice.

The students’ organization stressed that as per information available through RTI, the actual intake exceeded as much as 30 per cent of sanctioned strength. However, the University and its colleges were not providing for reserved students in this additional intake, thereby diluting the reservation provisions.

It has also asked that all efforts be made to ensure that students from the OBC category fill the 27 percent of seats reserved for OBCs. There have been complaints in the past that the University was diverting seats for OBCs to the general category. The Supreme Court had ruled that after all efforts were exhausted to fill the quota had been taken, the vacant seats could be released for the general category. The ministry has told the Delhi University that three additional lists or rounds be undertaken to ensure that OBC students can avail the reserved seats. Most colleges have as many as three to four lists, during which the cut off is lowered to ensure that the seats are filled. These cut-offs are indicative for admissions under the general category. What the ministry has suggested following a discussion with the University’s officials is that three additional lists be brought out with the specific aim of admitting OBC students under the quota.

It has also clarified that the 10 per cent difference in marks between the general and the OBC category was in terms of eligibility criteria, and not selection. The complaint said that the Delhi University colleges has set a cut-off for OBCs that was 10 per cent lower than that for general category. As a result of high cut-off marks, it was difficult for OBC students to make the grade.