Quibbling Over Quotas ; Arjun Singh Might Have Been Successful in Securing Reservation for Obcs in Private Educational Institutions, but a Lot Still Depends On the Course the State Governments Take On the Issue
Summary
It has finally been parcelled and sealed. Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Arjun Singh has manoeuvred the decisive implementation of the controversial Mandal report of the 1980s, with none of the opposition that accompanied it when former prime minister V.P. Singh took it out of the woodwork to boost his sagging political fortunes. The smooth implementation of the 104th Amendment in the last Parliament session, promising reservation in private educational institutions for OBCs, is as much a tribute to Singh's political machinations as the changed times, where quotas for socially and educationally backward classes (SEBC) are far more acceptable than they used to be.
The immediate impact will be felt by the IITs, IIMs and Central institutions like the IISC, besides central and Sainik schools. Currently, they have reservation for SCs and STs but now will also have to accommodate OBCs. Of the five lakh engineering seats in the country today, for instance, 1.90 lakh will be reserved, as against the present 1.25 lakh. Similar changes may occur in MCA, MBBS, dental and other professional courses as well. An HRD Ministry source said the Centre is contemplating an increase in the overall number of seats in all centrally run management and technical institutes. V.P. Singh created jobs for the OBCs, Arjun Singh has completed the circle by delivering seats in educational institutions.See the full content of this document
Extract
Quibbling Over Quotas ; Arjun Singh Might Have Been Successful in Securing Reservation for Obcs in Private Educational Institutions, but a Lot Still Depends On the Course the State Governments Take On the Issue
The HRD minister found a way to implement reservation for OBCs by introducing a fifth clause in Article 15, which now stipulates that the government can effectively reserve seats in "unaided educational institutions" for the "advancement" of the SC/ST and OBC. At the same time, he cleverly...
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