Parliamentary panel urges law for OBC, SC, ST quotas in private universities

NEw new delhi: A Parliamentary venire on wed flagged the “considerably depression” enrolment of Other backwards Classes (OBC) students and the “abysmally low” presence of Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) students in India’s three private universities with Institution of Eminence (IoE) status and recommended a law making reservations mandatory in private higher educational institutions—27% for OBCs, 15% for SCs, and 7.5% for STs—in line with government norms.The central government has granted IoE status to 20 institutions (10 public and 10 private), thereby giving them special recognition, greater autonomy, and financial support to achieve world-class standards.The Parliamentary standing committee on education, women, children, youth and sports, chaired by Congress MP Digvijaya Singh in its report on the necessity for reservations for OBC, SC, and ST students in private higher educational institutions, reviewed the latest students’ strengths from O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat; Shiv Nadar University, Greater Noida; and Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani.Citing various Supreme Court’s orders, the Parliamentary standing committee on education, women, children, youth and sports, headed by Congress MP Digvijaya Singh in its report submitted to Parliament said that reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs in private educational institutions is “constitutionally permissible.”To introduce reservations for SCs, STs, and OBCs in private higher education institutions, the Committee asked the government to follow the Right to Education (RTE) Act’s 25% quota in private schools model – where fees are reimbursed by the government.Private educational institutions are currently not bound by law to implement reservation policies, as no statute mandates them. The panel called the absence of reservations in private educational institutions an “impediment to attaining social justice in this country.”“The committee, therefore, recommends that Article 15(5) of the Indian Constitution be implemented in full across the country through legislation by parliament. The committee recommends that 27%, 15% and 7.5% seats should be reserved for OBCs, SCs, and STs respectively in private higher educational institutions,” added the report.Article 15(5) of the Constitution, inserted through the 93rd Constitutional amendment in 2006, allows the government to mandate reservations for SC, ST, and OBC students in private educational institutions. In May 2014, in Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust v Union of India, the Supreme Court upheld the entirety of Article 15(5) of the Indian Constitution.Citing All-India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) 2021-22 data, which lists 517 private universities, 240 central institutions and 445 state institutions, the panel noted that public institutions alone cannot meet demand, making private HEIs crucial for accommodating students from all sections of society.Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh in a statement said it is “no longer possible to ignore” the demand of SC, ST and OBC communities for reservations in private higher education. Stating that the panel report has given “renewed impetus” to the demand which was also mentioned in the party’s 2024 “Nyay Patra” manifesto, he said, “The ball is now in the Modi government’s court.”