Exclusion Of OBC Reservation In Medical Admission A Violation Of Constitutional Rights: SFI

The Students’ Federation of India in a statement released on 20 July 2021 stated that the exclusion of OBC reservation in medical admission is a blatant violation of constitutional rights. “The BJP led NDA government has always resorted to a systematic attack on reservation in higher education. SFI strongly condemns the lack of initiative from the part of the Ministry of Education to address the issue of violation of the constitutionally mandated reservation norms for MBBS/BDS admission process via National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET). We therefore demand an immediate action from the Government of India to ensure necessary reforms for implementing the constitutionally mandated 27% reservation for the students belonging to OBC in admissions to the MBBS and BDS courses under the all India quota seats surrendered by the states” said SFI General Secretary Mayukh Biswas, and SFI All India President V. P. Sanu on behalf of the Central Executive Committee.

Read the full statement below:

The Central Executive Committee of Students’ Federation of India (SFI) strongly denounces the exclusion of medical aspirant students belonging to Other Backward Classes (OBC) from the admission process via National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET). The admission figures for MBBS and BDS course under the all India quota seats surrendered by the states, published by the medical counseling committee in their website (www.mcc.nic.in) indicate a blatant violation of the constitutional provision of 27% reservation of the seats for OBC sections belonging to the non-creamy layer. The NEET 2021 information bulletin issued by the National Testing Agency (NTA) states that OBC reservation will be implemented only in central or national institutions following the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006, and not in the all India quota seats surrendered by the states as the matter is sub-judice. This is a clear assault on the rights of the students from backward sections of the country and once again proves the negligence of the BJP led NDA government towards ensuring social justice.
The BJP led NDA government has always resorted to a systematic attack on reservation in higher education. SFI had earlier approached the Ministry of Education and pointed out the anomalous application of CEI (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 in Central Universities, Institutes of National Importance like IITs, IISc, NITs, IIMs, IIITs, AIIMS etc, which guarantees reservation for students belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SCs)/ Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) at 15%, 7.5% & 27% of total annual admissions. The issue of underrepresentation of OBC/SC/ST in Indian academia was also raised in the two houses of the Parliament by the members from the left and the Ministry has not yet seriously acted upon it.
SFI strongly condemns the lack of initiative from the part of the Ministry to address the issue of violation of the constitutionally mandated reservation norms for MBBS/BDS admission process via National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET). We therefore demand an immediate action from the Government of India to ensure necessary reforms for implementing the constitutionally mandated 27% reservation for the students belonging to OBC in admissions to the MBBS and BDS courses under the all India quota seats surrendered by the states.
SFI will take forward our struggle to ensure social justice to the marginalised sections of the society.

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