Page 22 - EW October 2024
P. 22
Education News
mature postgrad students ready had only 13,007 OBC candi-
to debate national, political and dates in the unreserved cat-
socio-economic issues. On the other egory. The remaining 5,844
hand, DUSU couldn’t muster even OBC students were placed
a solidarity march over the horrific in reserved category despite
rape-murder of the medical student their having qualified in the
in Kolkata,” says Dr. Abha Dev unreserved category,” said
Habib, physics professor at Miranda the commission. As a result
House, a DU affiliated college. the OBC reserved category
Nevertheless, the outcome of the was reduced by 5,623 seats.
DUSU elections is important since On January 5, 2022, the
the major contestants are backed by ministry prepared a list of
the BJP and Congress. Both parties 6,800 candidates who would
want to be seen to have the support have qualified but for mis-
of youth in India’s largest public uni- classification, and promised
versity with over 600,000 students. Protesting teacher candidates in Lucknow to issue appointment letters
With Delhi state elections sched- “shortly”. However, since it
uled for early next year, both parties 67.11 percent; for Other Backward was the year of legislative assembly
deployed their star campaigners to Castes (OBC) 66.73 percent; and 61.01 elections and with the model code of
endorse the contestants. Meanwhile percent for Scheduled Castes (SC) conduct in force, the letters were not
although there is some tension about candidates. issued.
the DUSU election outcome in the The final list of 67,867 selected can- herefore, the government’s inac-
offices of ABVP and NSUI, in the didates was released in two batches — Ttion was protested in a petition
campuses of DU and 90 affiliated June and October 2020. The remain- filed in the Allahabad high court. In
colleges, it’s business as usual. ing 1,133 positions for ST (Scheduled March 2023, the court observed that
Autar Nehru (Delhi) Tribes) candidates were left vacant there were several anomalies in the
due to lack of minimally qualified ap- reservation process of the examina-
UTTAR PRADESH plicants. tion and directed the state to issue a
Prolix recruitment chorus of demands for category-wise new composite list of successful candi-
Almost immediately there was a
dates within a period of three months.
litigation disclosure of successful candidates. lahabad high court, the state govern-
During the hearing before the Al-
It was alleged that over 50 percent of
selected teachers were drawn from the ment acknowledged that the Res-
dispute over the recruitment unreserved (merit) category, with only ervation Act had not been properly
of 69,000 government school 3.86 percent instead of the mandatory implemented. In response, a revised
A teachers in Uttar Pradesh es- 27 percent being drawn from the OBC selection list was issued on January
calated to the Supreme Court of India. category, and 16.2 percent rather than 2, 2022 adding 6,800 more appoint-
On September 9, the apex court over- the mandated 21 percent drawn from ments from reserved category candi-
ruled an order of the Lucknow high SC/ST categories. It was alleged that dates.
court to draw up a fresh list of recruit- 15,800 seats which should have been This order in turn aggrieved general
ees in response to petitions alleging awarded to OBC and SC/ST graduates category candidates whose number re-
that affirmative action rules were not were allotted to the general category duced by an equivalent amount. They
followed in the recruitment process. candidates. petitioned the Supreme Court which
In December 2018, the UP govern- In July 2020, this allegation was on September 9, 2023 temporarily
ment notified recruitment of 69,000 heard by the National Commission stayed the Allahabad high court’s or-
assistant teachers for the state’s 1.33 for Other Backward Classes. After der. It also directed the state govern-
lakh government schools. In January enquiry, the commission found dis- ment to issue a brief on its position by
2019, 4.1 lakh candidates wrote the crepancies in the criteria adopted for end September (that is yet to happen).
qualifying exam, the results of which defining OBC and SC/ST for the exam. The high court had directed that
were published in May, 2020. “There were 34,589 unreserved seats the process of issuing a new list be
A total of 146,000 candidates in the examination. As per real figures completed within three months. The
cleared the exam which stipulated (sic), 18,851 OBC candidates qualified only protection it offered to assistant
varying cut-offs for differing catego- for admission under the unreserved teachers appointed under the earlier
ries of candidates. For unreserved merit category. However, the first list list was that they could retain their po-
(general) candidates, the cut-off was prepared by the education ministry sitions for the current academic year.
22 EDUCATIONWORLD OCTOBER 2024