Creamy OBCs in; Arjun promises law on unaided educational institutes now
THE LOK Sabha on Thursday unanimously passed the bill to provide reservations to students from Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in centrally aided higher education institutions.
HRD Minister Arjun Singh announced that a similar bill would soon be brought to extend the same provisions to unaided private institutions.
The bill has not excluded the ‘creamy layer’ of OBCs from among the beneficiaries, despite the recommendation of the Parliamentary Standing Committee for HRD. The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Bill, 2006, provides for 27 per cent reservation for OBCs, 15 per cent for SCs and 7.5 per cent for STs.
Some members demanded quotas for Muslims too. However, the provisions will not extend to minority educational institutions. The implementation would be staggered over three years, the Human Resource Development Minister said. The provisions will come into effect from the academic year 2007.hsbartwal@hindustantimes.com