Maratha quota now 12% for junior college admissions

The Maharashtra government has decided to reduce the reservation quota for students of the Maratha community from 16% to 12% for junior college admissions this academic

The Maharashtra government has decided to reduce the reservation quota for students of the Maratha community from 16% to 12% for junior college admissions this academic year.

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The decision was taken following the order that was issued by the Bombay high court (HC), officials said.

“We have decided to reduce reservation quota under the Social and Educational Backward Classes Act (SEBC) to 12% from 16% for junior college admissions (Class XI) for this academic year,” stated the government resolution issued by the school education department on Tuesday.

The order is applicable for 15 municipal corporations — Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivli, Mira-Bhayander, Ulhasnagar, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Vasai-Virar, Panvel, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nashik, Aurangabad, Nagpur and Amravati.

School education secretary Vandana Krishna said, “SEBC quota has been reduced as per the orders of the HC. Also, online admission process for Class 11 is carried out only in these 15 corporations as there is no demand or need for the online admission process in rest of the state.”

The erstwhile BJP- led state government has granted 16% reservation to the Maratha community by enacting the SEBC act, in government jobs and education in November 2018. The act was upheld HC on June 2019, but it said that the quantum of 16% was not justifiable and should be reduced to 12%-13%, as recommended by the state backward classes commission in its report as one of the main basis to grant reservation to the community.

Later, it was challenged in the Supreme Court (SC). On February 5, SC, while hearing a bunch of petitions against Maratha reservation, refused to stay the HC order. The Apex court has now fixed the next hearing of the case on July 7.

The state education department in its GR has also increased the quota for student with disabilities to 4% from the existing 3% for admissions in junior colleges.