VKA for Ordinance to Restore Old 200 Point Roster

Jashpurnagar: The Akhil Bharatiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram demanded the Government of India to immediately follow the Ordinance route without filing a Review Petition in the apex court to restore the earlier roster system of reservation in education institutions. In a press statement issued on February 8 Kalyan Ashram president Shri Jagdevram Oraon said the government should act according to the spirit of the Constitution and reservation should be applied in all Government or private institutions of higher education according to the proportion of tribal population in the State.

The Kalyan Ashram called upon the state-funded minority educational institutions also that if they are really in favour of social justice to OBC, SC and ST classes they should ensure reservation for these classes in their institutions. “The tribal community of this country is watching and understanding everything. For these justified demands, a delegation of Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram is meeting President of India, Home Minister, Minister of Tribal Affairs, Minister of HRD and Chairman of the National Commission for STs,” the statement said.

It is to be noted that in April 2017, the Allahabad High Court delivered a verdict of far reaching negative impact on constitutional scheme of reservation for SCs and STs in teaching posts and vacancies in central higher educational institutions (universities and colleges affiliated to them). Last year, this judgment was approved by the Supreme Court. In the middle of the year, the Ministry of Human Resource Development and University Grants Commission preferred Special Leave Petition against this judgment before the Supreme Court. On January 22 this year the Supreme Court dismissed both these petitions. The reservation prescribed for both SCs and STs in recruitment and promotion is 15% and 7.5% respectively. For OBCs, 27% reservation has been prescribed in initial recruitment, not in promotion.

Now after this decision, instead of the earlier provision of treating the entire institution as one unit to apply 200 point roster system of treating different departments of the institution as separate unit, 13 point roster system has been applied. Not only this, but Professors, Associate Professors and Assistant Professors will also be treated separate unit. In other words, in filling the vacancies in first 13 recruitment, one OBC candidate shall be recruited on 4th vacancy and one SC candidate on 7th vacancy, ST candidate will not get any post and will get reservation only on 14th vacancy; whereas under old formula carving out half of 13 i.e. 7 for the unreserved category 3 posts to OBC, 2 to SC and 1 post to ST used to be allotted. This was social justice distributive system of all-inclusive approach. Because of not treating the institution as one unit, now entry of ST candidates in teaching class of institution of higher education will be totally closed.

Presently 5,000-6,000 posts are lying vacant in higher educational institutions. Under old provisions, 350-400 posts were surely to go to the tribals but under new provisions they would not get even 25-30 posts and future prospect would also be marred. In the same proposition loss would be caused to OBCs, SCs and Divyangs (Physically Challenged) also. “This situation-system is oppressive to the tribal community and completely against the equality oriented spirit behind the reservation provisions in the Constitution of India. It is very natural that against this system the tribal community which is already lagging behind in the march of development, and specially youth among them, are agitated,” the statement said.

“We demand Central Government that considering sensitivity of the issue and its possible socio-political consequences it should immediately bring an ordinance and restoring earlier 200 point roster system in institutions of higher education it should fulfill its constitutional obligation of bringing justice to the tribal community on this matter of great injustice,” the statement added.