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Admission quota in KVs may be extended to OBCs
New Delhi: The Union human resource development (HRD) ministry has cleared the decks for extending reservation to Other Backward Class (OBC) candidates in admission
New Delhi: The Union human resource development (HRD) ministry has cleared the decks for extending reservation to Other Backward Class (OBC) candidates in admission to state-run Kendriya Vidyalaya and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, according to two senior officials familiar with the matter.
If approved by the Union Cabinet and implemented, this may be the first time OBC quotas are enforced at the school level.
The proposal followed demands from several quarters – including the OBC Commission – to extend reservation benefits to the backward communities, said the first official quoted above. After deliberation, the proposal received the go-ahead from the Union law ministry, added the official who asked not to be named.
“The issue was examined in detail. A decision was to be taken soon as admission for the session 2020-21 are fast approaching. After examining all aspects, HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ has given his in principle approval to the proposal,” said the official.
The minister was unavailable for comment but in reply to a question by Bharatiya Janata Party MP Ganesh Singh in the Parliament’s winter session, he said, “The matter pertaining to reservation for OBCs in KVs and JNVs is under the active consideration of the ministry.”
The first official said the quantum of reservation extended to OBC students would be 27% but no decision was taken whether the “creamy layer” – a term used to denote the economically well-off sections – would be excluded from the benefits.
The admission guidelines may be tweaked accordingly by the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan and the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, said a second government official on condition of anonymity. “This decision will reflect the commitment of the government towards weaker sections,” said the official.
A senior Kendriya Vidyalaya official confirmed the decision but added that they were awaiting to officially hear from the ministry on the matter.
The KVs are a chain of schools under the Union HRD ministry for the children of transferable central government employees. Currently, they provide 15% reservation in admissions to Scheduled Caste (SC) and 7.5% to Scheduled Tribe (ST) students, apart from setting aside 25% seats under provisions of the Right to Education Act (RTE). The latter includes horizontal reservation of 3% for disabled students.
The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan was established in November 1962 to provide uninterrupted education to wards of transferable central government employees. It has 1,228 school, including three abroad at Kathmandu, Tehran and Moscow. Around 1.3 million students study at these schools. There are 661 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, which are geared towards rural areas.
At present, 27% positions for OBCs are reserved in government jobs and higher education, but none at the school level. “This is the first time reservations for OBC students are being provided in the school education sector,” said the second official.
According to this official, the Kendriya Vidyalayas already have a substantial number of OBC students because 61 % of all students in these central schools are students of government employees – where there is a 27% reservation for OBC communities.
When asked if a 10 % quota for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) would also be provided, in accordance with the bill passed by the Union government earlier this year, the third official said only OBC quota had received the go-ahead at the moment. “All aspects, including EWS, can be examined. We are looking at all aspects on how to implement this decision,” the official added, on condition of anonymity.
Experts welcomed the step. “There are many in the OBC community who are educationally very backward. In my opinion this quota should be implemented with the creamy layer concept,” said eminent educationist RS Kureel.
