New Delhi, Aug. 20 -- The Congress on Wednesday said the government should bring a new legislation in the 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.
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," he added.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.