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Reservation in education and employment is a constitutional right made available to the citizens of the country whose ancestors had been denied of those opportunities centuries together. Reservation provisions include the opportunities in higher educational institutions – Central, State and the private. The control of such educational institutions and provisions of reservation to the marginalised depends on the reservation policies of either Centre or the State as per the line of control. But in order to enable the financial assistance to the higher educational institutions, in the form of grant an advisory body was formed through the Parliamentary Act as University Grants Commission in 1953. From the state of grant releasing institution for various educational activities, the commission has been slowly intruding into the governing activities of universities that are autonomous bodies with independent, elected representatives in senate, syndicate from the respective stakeholders. The syllabus formulation of the Commission may be considered as guidelines for the universities and cannot be imposed on them for strict adherence. The imposition has been severe since 2014 after the BJP assumed power at the Union government. Subjects of mythical bases have been changed into historical figures and the syllabus of History is getting changed accordingly. To accomplish this task, saffronists in the educational and academic fields have been nominated and assigned with the task.
In respect of the faculty services and the ministerial services at the university campuses and their constituents, the reservation policy is as per the policy of the respective State governments.
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As per this policy, in Tamil Nadu, the State government had issued orders in 1989 itself that if desired candidates have not appeared for the selection process, the vacancies in respect of each category of reservation must continue to be vacant for a minimum period of 3 years. This continuance of reservation is for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, the Backward Classes etc.
But in the recently released report, of course the final draft submitted by the University Grants Commission, dereservation of vacancies has been suggested, if desired candidates are not available and that the unfilled vacancies have to be shifted to the General category so that the candidates belonging to the other castes could be selected for that. The purpose of the General category i.e. open competition to all the communities is that the meritorious candidates belonging to SC / ST / BC should have scope for the selection and these marginalised sections, not selected in the open competition then will come for the process of the reserved vacancies.
The new suggestion made by the UGC has made the open competition category, exclusively for the castes other than the marginalised. The suggestion of the UGC makes the Constitutional provisions ‘ultravires’. How can the advisory and grant releasing body decide the vital policy of Reservation for which it has no locus standi? A wider protests have emanated about the prescription made in the final draft of UGC, by the mainstream political parties, social organisations and various staff welfare associations. Weakening the concept of Social Justice – more through dereservation, is the very dear agenda of the saffronists. But as the Lok Sabha Elections are due, the Union Ministry has issued a statement that any sort of dereservation will not be there. This announcement is only tentative. It may be either revoked or silently implemented through some other mode at the appropriate time. Based on the statement of the Ministry, the UGC has deleted the suggestion of dereservation from the soft copy of the final draft from its website.
Let the prospective beneficiaries remain in strict follow up over the issue. Eternal vigilance is the price payable for liberty as well as for availing of social justice.
