HRD Ministry issues circular to implement OBC quota

Two days after the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs’ (CCPA) decision to implement OBC quota in all the central education institutions as per the Supreme Court order, the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (HRD) on Sunday issued directives to all the CEIs to ensure reservation for OBCs under the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 from the very coming academic (2008-09) session.

With this circular it has been made amply clear that creamy layer among OBCs would not get the benefit of reservation and the whole OBC quota has been kept out of the minority institutions. The Ministry in order to avoid any confusion also listed out the name of institutions and the courses, which falls under the ambit of CEI (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006.

This way the total reservation to these institutions would be 49.5 percent of which 27 percent reserved for OBC minus creamy layer, with existing 15 percent for Schedule Castes and 7.5 percent for Schedule Castes.

Further to make clarity in the statements so as to avoid any confusion and delay in the admission process considering the paucity of times as admission process in some institutions has already been started, the ministry said the Act applies to all courses of study at undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate levels, except courses or programmes at high level of specialisation, comprising the post-doctoral level within any branch of study specified by UGC/BCI/MCI/AICTE.

All the central institutions comprising IITs, IIMs, and NITs, NIS and many others have been asked to implement the 27 percent OBC quota in a phase manner over the three years and asked to consider the forthcoming academic session as the first year of implementation.

The circular though gave free hand to institutions to use this phased manner as per their convenience, yet kept the final authority in its hand to alter the manner the roll out was phased after consultations with the competent authority.

The institutions have also been asked to fix the cut off marks for OBC candidates at their own, but are advised to maintain the quality and standard of education while deciding the cut off marks for OBCs in comparison to unreserved category as well as ensure sufficient number of eligible students to get admission.

In order to determine OBC the Ministry advised the institutions to refer to the central list of OBCs prepared by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in consultation with the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) for reservation in jobs and reasoned, “In Indian social reality, every genuine socially backward class is also an educationally backward class” for accepting the existing OBC list.

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment had asked the NCBC in December last year to give suggestions to determine the new norms for creamy layer. The Ministry said till the NCBC suggestion comes and studied and further decision taken by the ministry the existing 1993 government order amended in 2004 would be used to determine the creamy layer.

Indian Institute of Technologies

The Indian Institute of Technologies have already taken an unanimous decision in a meeting on 17 April attended by the directors of seven IITs and Ministry of HRD to reserve 9 percent seats to OBC category students from this academic year and subsequently will achieve the full quota of 27% by 2010.

It was also decided to implement full reservation of 27% for OBCs and 22.5% for SC/STs in the three proposed IITs in Rajasthan, Bihar, and Andhra Pradesh from the very first year.

AIIMS and other central aided medical colleges

On 18 April the Central government-aided medical colleges across the country had decided to implement the OBC quota in two years of time as instructed by the Centre.

The government has announced that medical colleges funded by the Centre will reserve 18 percent of seats for the OBC students from the forthcoming academic session while completing the implementation of whole 27 percent by next academic session.