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Elite institutions should set admission criteria: Panel


NEW DELHI, AUG 1 (PTI)
Sending a clear signal that the quota for OBCs in elite educational institutions might not be implemented in one go, the Oversight Committee has recommended that the criteria for admissions in IITs and IIMs should be determined by the institutions alone to maintain their excellence.

"The Committee recognises that those institutions of higher learning which have established global reputation (e.g. IITs, IIMs, IISc, AIIMS and other such exceptional quality institutions) can only be maintained if the highest quality in both faculty and students in ensured," it said in its interim report.

Observing that "expansion, inclusion and excellence" was the moving spirit behind the new reservation policy, the panel headed by former Karnataka chief minister Veerappa Moily said in its report that institutions of higher learning should keep these principles in mind while determining the threshold marks for admitting OBC students.

While expanding intake, care should be taken to ensure that capacities are expanded in subjects or areas in which there are employment opportunities, said the report that was presented to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently.

The Committee, however, left the issue of a creamy layer for its final report, which will be presented by August 31.

There was certainly a case for increasing Plan and budgetary allocations for the higher education sector and it was felt that the additional resources to be generated to give effect to the policy decision on reservations should not be a one-time affair, the panel said.

Strongly advocating that students who currently tend to get excluded, must be given every opportunity to raise their own levels of attainment, it said, "The government should invest heavily in creating powerful, well designed and executed remedial preparatory measures to achieve this objective fully." A mechanism for funding higher education through loans and scholarships would have to be looked at for economically disadvantaged students, it said.

The report said certain administrative and financial powers have to be delegated to the institutions of higher learning to give effect to the decision to expand student capacity by 54 per cent within a limited timeframe.

To overcome the shortage of faculty in these institutions, the Committee suggested the raising of the age of superannuation to 65 years across the board, and engaging retiring faculty on three-year contracts that will be extendable up to the age of 70 years.

Other recommendations include engaging visiting or adjunct faculty on attractive terms, and assigning additional workload to existing faculty within reasonable limits so that there is no dilution and amendment in eligibility criteria for faculty recruitment.

The committee also recommended the setting up of an empowered committee in each institution and asked the human resource development ministry to give necessary approvals and sanctions on infrastructural and developmental issues.

Cabinet divided on roadmap to implement OBC quotas


NEW DELHI, AUG 2 (PTI)
Government's efforts to go ahead with implementation of resevation for OBCs in elite educational institutions appears to be facing problems with an informal meeting of senior ministers chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh unable to evolve a consensus on the roadmap.

The meeting, which reviewed progress on the UPA's commitment to bring the enabling bill in the current session in the light of the Moily Committee report, discussed various aspects including the funding of the expansion of the capacity of institutions like IITs, IIMs and Central Universities.

Sources said there was no no consensus on almost all the issues like how to go about implementing the proposal, whether to do it one go or in a phased manner and judicial scrutiny.

The whopping Rs 16,000 crore needed for funding the reservation-linked expansion in the first five years appeared to be a major issue, they said adding the government, however, would not not be deterred by that.

The issue of bringing the bill in the current session in the light of the coalition's decision to do it was also discussed.

It was felt that the bill at least should be introduced and if possible get it passed, the sources said.

The government is likely to talk to various political parties on passage of the bill for which a political consensus already exists.

Those who attended the meeting included Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, HRD Minister Arjun Singh, Law Minister H R Bhardwaj and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram.

PM meets Ramadoss to discuss quota
[ 4 Aug, 2006 1611hrs ISTPTI ]


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NEW DELHI: Continuing his efforts to build a consensus on the implementation of OBC reservation in elite educational institutions, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday held consultations with Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss, whose party PMK wants its immediate implementation.

Advocating a 'one-go' rollout of reservation, Ramadoss told the Prime Minister that students belonging to OBC category have waited enough to get access to higher education.

They could be accommodated in the existing facilities and as and when infrastructure improves, students from unreserved categories could be given seats.

"The PMK even asked for bringing an Ordinance to implement the process", Ramadoss said after the meeting in which UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee were present.

The Minister said that his party was also against exclusion of creamy layer from the proposed reservation.

The Prime Minister received a boost on Thursday when he had received support from RJD supremo Lalu Prasad when he said his party would support the government in "whatever decision it takes on the issue".

"We are committed to reservation. Let us first finalise all this," Prasad had said when asked whether his party would agree to a staggered implementation as suggested by the Oversight Committee headed by Veerappa Moily.

Effort for consensus on quota gains momentum, PM consults Lalu


NEW DELHI, AUG 3 (PTI)
Government's efforts to muster support from political parties on implementation of reservation for OBCs in elite educational institutions gathered momentum with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh holding consultations with ruling UPA allies.

RJD leader and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad along with his party colleagues met the Prime Minister and extended his party's support to the government in "whatever decision it takes on the issue".

"We are committed to reservation. Let us first finalise all this," Prasad told reporters when asked whether his party would agree to a staggered implementation as suggested by the Oversight Committee headed by Veerappa Moily.

RJD, along with the Left, DMK and PMK, wanted the government to bring a bill in this regard in the current session of Parliament.

Prasad and CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury also met HRD Minister Arjun Singh and were understood to have discussed the issue.

The government had yesterday indicated it would talk to various political parties on passage of the bill for which a political consensus already exists.

The consultations assume significance as it happened a day after a meeting of Cabinet ministers convened by the Prime Minister failed to evolve a consensus on the roadmap for implementing the quota.

The meeting, which reviewed progress on UPA's commitment to bring the enabling bill in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament in the light of the Moily Committee report, had discussed various aspects including funding of the expansion of the capacity of institutions like IITs, IIMs and Central Universities.

Sources had said there was no consensus on almost all the issues like how to go about implementing the proposal, whether to do it one go or in a phased manner and judicial scrutiny.

The whopping Rs 16,000 crore needed for funding the reservation-linked expansion in the first five years is a major issue, they said adding the government, however, would not deterred by that.

It's for govt to decide when to bring quota law in House: Moily


NEW DELHI, AUG 4 (PTI)
Veerappa Moily, heading the Oversight Committee tasked with readying a roadmap for its implementation, today said it was for government to decide whether to go ahead with the legislation in the current session of Parliament even before the Committee submits its final report on the issue.

Moily told reporters that the Committee is yet to decide on the issue of creamy layer as also on whether the measure should be implemented in one go or in a phased manner and give its views on these issue in its final report to given by August 31.

"It is for the government to decide whether to wait for the final report or go ahead on the basis of the interim report and those by the sub-groups", he said.

Replying to questions, the former Karnataka Chief Minister said the fund requirement of Rs 16,500 crore for the expansion of infrastructure in the next five years could be raised through various innovative ways and there was no need for total government support.

The observation of Moily, a prominent OBC leader, comes in the backdrop of HRD Minister Arjun Singh's reported remarks that the new quota regime need not wait for an infrastructure upgrade and should be implemented in one go.

In an interview to 'Awaaz' television channel, Moily advocated inclusion of creamy layer in OBCs in the quota regime.

"Oversight Committee is thinking that in terms of creamy layer, there will be an inclusive policy...Oversight Committee will evolve an inclusive policy not an exclusive policy among the backward classes", he said.

According to a press released issued by the channel, he said while the committee wanted the OBCs to enter world class institutions, there would not be any attempt to bulldoze the institutions into submission.

Quota under Art 16(4) favours BCs, not a particular caste: HC


ALLAHABAD, AUG 4 (PTI)
In an important verdict, the Allahabad High Court today said reservations provided under Clause four of Article 16 of the Constitution should favour backward classes and not a particular caste.

Once a caste satisfies the criteria of backwardness, it becomes a backward class for the purposes of Article 16(4), a Division Bench comprising Justices Amitava Lala and Sanjay Mishra ruled.

The court said there is no religious restriction among backward classes. For instance, 'Banjara' as defined in the Constitution was definitely made for all and not a particular religion, it said.

The judgment came in response to a writ petition filed by Moazzam Ali, who challenged the cancellation of his nomination to contest elections for the local village panchayat from a constituency reserved for people of backward classes.

Ali was a candidate under the scheduled category of 'Banjara' and filed his nomination after obtaining the requisite certificate from the teshildar.

However, his nomination was cancelled by authorities on the plea that he was a Muslim and therefore his candidature as a 'Banjara' cannot be accepted as they belong only to the Hindu community.

Allowing Ali's petition and quashing the rejection order, the court observed, "A caste is nothing but a social class -- a socially homogeneous class. It is also an occupational grouping, with this difference that its membership is hereditary. One is born into it, its membership is involuntary.

"If we take an orverall outlook in respect of historical background, Constitution, judicial interpretation, report of the commission and understand the intention of legislature clearly, we shall get the answer that nomenclature under the item 'Banjara' in the schedule was never made to incorporate only one religion.

"For the sake of argument if we accept the logic that the 'Banjara' under the schedule is made only for one religion, then where the Banjaras of other religion will be placed? There is no nomenclature in the schedule. If not, can it be said they will be ousted even from the class? Our answer is 'no'. Any conclusion which will lead to an absurdity or create any dangerous situation, should not be encouraged," said the bench.

PM holds consultations with Ramadoss on quota


NEW DELHI, AUG 4 (PTI)
Continuing his efforts to build a consensus on the implementation of OBC reservation in elite educational institutions, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today held consultations with Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss, whose party PMK wants its immediate implementation.

Advocating a 'one-go' rollout of reservation, Ramadoss told the Prime Minister that students belonging to OBC category have waited enough to get access to higher education. They could be accommodated in the existing facilities and as and when infrastructure improves, students from unreserved categories could be given seats.

"The PMK even asked for bringing an Ordinance to implement the process", Ramadoss said after the meeting in which UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee were present.

The Minister said that his party was also against exclusion of creamy layer from the proposed reservation.

The Prime Minister received a boost yesterday when he had received support from RJD supremo Lalu Prasad when he said his party would support the government in "whatever decision it takes on the issue".

"We are committed to reservation. Let us first finalise all this," Prasad had said when asked whether his party would agree to a staggered implementation as suggested by the Oversight Committee headed by Veerappa Moily.

Students sent questionnaire to Sonia on quota


KANPUR, AUG 5 (PTI)
Anti-quota students of Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur and GSVM Medical College today sent a questionnaire to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi asking her to explain why Congress at the Centre and at Andhra Pradesh take different stand on the reservation based on religion.

Students has sent a letter containing seven questions to Gandhi asking her why the Congress at the Centre opposes reservation for Muslims while its party government in Andhra Pradesh is providing five per cent quota for Muslims, 'Youth for Equality' representative Chandrasekhar told reporters here.

He also said the students will boycott Gandhi's rally on August eight here.

Moily panel projects additional student intake of over 80,000


NEW DELHI, AUG 6 (PTI)
The Oversight Committee, set up to prepare a roadmap for reservations for OBCs in elite educational institutions, has projected an additional student intake of 80,557 with a 54 per cent capacity expansion of seats to implement the new quota.

However, this will involve an overall expenditure of Rs 16,563.34 crore -- Rs 9,092.96 crore as non-recurring and Rs 7,470.38 crore as recurring expenses -- over five years.

Of the total additional intake of students under the 27 per cent quota, 17 Central universities will accommodate a major chunk of 63,005 students, followed by engineering colleges offering seats to 16,132 students, said statistics contained in the Committee's interim report.

A total of 1,42,757 students are currently enrolled in the agriculture, management, medical and engineering fields in the Central universities that were studied by the Veerappa Moily-led Committee.

The Committee, in its report presented to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently, pointed out that a 12,126-strong faculty would be required for the 54 per cent expansion of seats.

However, the sub-group on engineering felt not all institutions would be able to implement the 27 per cent quota in one go. It recommended that an enabling provision may be put in place for institutions hampered by special constraints or limitations to enable them to implement the quota in a phased manner over a period of not more than three years. Management institutes wanted the reservations implemented over a period of time.

One of the major observations on academic aspects related to the OBC quota was that the IIMs conduct courses like fellow programmes, executive development programmes and faculty development courses other than the regular two-year postgraduate diploma programmes that lay down work experience, and sponsorship as eligibility criteria, the report said.

"The OBC reservation should not be extended to these categories and must be confined to the postgraduate diploma and equivalent programmes only," the sub-group said, adding there must be "no unjustifiable" demand on institutes to lower admission standards.

A systematic review of the implementation of the OBC quota must be undertaken after five years to reform and effect improvements, it said.

Echoing similar views, the sub-group on engineering and technology said "the issue of academic excellence was a major concern" and under no circumstances should the cut-off figure be lowered to accommodate or fill the reserved seats for OBCs.

"It is an ideal situation for the top technical institutions to expand, diversify and grow on a massive scale," it pointed out.

The Moily committee also suggested the creation of a monitoring committee in the Planning Commission to review the progress in implementing the OBC quota plan and the execution of detailed project reports giving a timeframe and required budgetary outlays for implementing the reservations.

No law for implementing quota in services: SC panel chief


ACHINTA BORAH NEW DELHI, AUG 6 (PTI)
Nearly six decades after the country's independence, there is still no law to enforce the quotas for under-privileged classes in government jobs, National Commission for Scheduled Castes Chairman Suraj Bhan has said.

"Since Independence, there is no law on implementation of reservation in services. If someone defies the reservation policy, no one can hold him guilty. There is not a single instance where a person was even warned for non-implementation of quota," Bhan told PTI here.

The government brought a bill on this issue in Parliament some time back but it is yet to be passed by the House. But even this proposed law does not lay down any penalties, he said.

"Unfortunately the proposed bill does not have a penal clause. It is like a toothless tiger. It seems nobody is serious," he said.

Bhan claimed even the Parliament secretariat did not follow the quota system while making appointments to various posts.

"It is really unfortunate that in the Parliament (secretariat), which is considered the temple of our democracy and where laws are being framed, there is no reservation for jobs," he claimed.