New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday said the government should bring a new legislation in Parliament to allow 15 per cent reservations to Scheduled Castes, 7.5 per cent to Scheduled Tribes and 27 per cent to Other Backward Classes in private higher educational institutes after a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education recommended it in its report.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a statement that the ball is now in the government’s court, noting that it is no longer possible to ignore the demand of SCs, STs and OBCs for quota in private educational institutes.
“The bipartisan Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education led by Digvijaya Singh has presented a report to Parliament today which advocates for reservations for SC, ST and OBC communities in private higher educational institutions (HEIs),” he said in a statement.
Highlighting the key points of the report, he said Article 15(5) of the Indian Constitution, inserted by Manmohan Singh’s Government in 2006 through the 93rd Amendment, allows the Government to mandate reservations for SC, ST and OBC students in private higher educational institutes.
In May 2014, he said, in Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust versus Union of India, the Supreme Court of India upheld the validity of Article 15(5), making it clear that reservations are permissible in private higher educational institutes as well.
“However, there is currently no law passed by Parliament which enforces Article 15(5) and mandates private HEIs to have reservations for SC, ST, and OBC community students.
“The current representation of SCs, STs, and OBC communities in private educational institutions is abysmally low. The Committee looked at the student composition of three private Institutions of Eminence (IoE) recognised by the Union Government – 0.89 per cent of students are SC, 0.53 per cent of students are ST and 11.16 per cent of students are OBC,” he noted.
Ramesh said the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education has therefore unanimously recommended that the Parliament pass a law implementing 15 per cent reservation for SC communities, 7.5 per cent reservation for ST communities, and 27 per cent reservation for OBC communities.
“It is no longer possible to ignore the legitimate demand of SC, ST, and OBC communities for reservations in private higher educational institutes. In its 2024 Lok Sabha election ‘Nyay Patra’, the Indian National Congress had committed itself to bringing legislation to implement Article 15(5) of the Constitution of India in private educational institutions. The Parliamentary Committee has now given renewed impetus to this demand.
“The ball is now in the Modi Government’s court,” the Congress leader said.
The Congress has been making the demand for some time now and once again urged the government to bring a law in this regard. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has also been raising the demand for increasing the OBC quota after a caste census.
