E-Paper
PU moots implementing 27% OBC quota in recruitments
As per the panel’s recommendation, 27% seats are to be set aside for OBC candidates out of which 12% will be solely for those from Punjab. The dean student welfare (DSW) has handed over a copy of the proposal to the two protesting student parties -- Students For Society (SFS) and Sath Party, with assurance that the matter will be taken up in a timely manner. HT has a copy of the letter.
Over thirty years after the nation implemented the OBC reservation policy, Panjab University (PU) has mooted a proposal to put it into effect in its recruitments. The move comes after a committee set up by the vice-chancellor -- in wake of a sit-in by two student outfits -- recommended that a proposal for OBC reservation in jobs at PU be tabled before the varsity’s governing bodies. The process for quota in student admissions is, however, being examined.
As per the panel’s recommendation, 27% seats are to be set aside for OBC candidates out of which 12% will be solely for those from Punjab. The dean student welfare (DSW) has handed over a copy of the proposal to the two protesting student parties -- Students For Society (SFS) and Sath Party, with assurance that the matter will be taken up in a timely manner. HT has a copy of the letter.
On why PU has not been able to adopt the OBC quota so far, a senior official explained that the varsity was in a dilemma as to which policy to implement -- the Punjab policy or the central one. The Punjab policy specifies 12% reservation while the cental policy specifies 27% reservation. The official added that following the Punjab policy would have rendered the OBC candidates from other states ineligible while the central policy would have deprived Punjab of any special right as the parent state of the university. The latest proposal, however, incorporates both the policies. But it cannot be implemented until it is cleared by the varsity’s two governing bodies – the senate and the syndicate. In the letter to the protesting students, it was mentioned that the V-C has forwarded the recommendations to the regulation committee. The letter also specifies the timeline to be followed by the panels. (see box).
While the Sath Party has accepted the proposals and called off its stir, the SFS refused to do so, stating that student admissions have not been covered in the proposal. SFS president Sandeep further said that the proposal only speaks of future recruitments not the current one. The V-C and the DSW remained unavailable for comments despite several attempts.
On quota for admissions, officials explained that the process would need more deliberations. Right now, the overall ratio is fixed between 55.5% for general students and 44.5% for reserved classes. Adding the extra seats will take the proportion of reserved seats over the constitutional mandate of 50%. PU senator Rajat Sandhir said that in mid- 2000s also, the university had tried to bring OBC reservation as per central rules and asked UGC for the funds for the extra seats. However, UGC did not allow this. In a letter in 2011, UGC had claimed that the central policy applies only to centrally funded institutions and PU in its special status as an inter-state body corporate doesn’t qualify for this.
