Student Struggle Editorial Team
The Students’ Federation of India (SFI) has come up with a strong criticism against the central government regarding the sabotage of reservation in IITs. The alarming under-representation of SC, ST, OBC students in IITs – even by not fulfilling the constitutionally mandated reservation seats – exposes how alienated the premier educational institutions have became for the students of socially oppressed sections. The average representation of SCs, STs & OBCs in PhD programs across all 23 IITs during the last five years is 9%, 2.1% and 23% respectively, against 15%, 7.5% and 27% shares of the total admissions as mandated by the law. The Central Executive Committee of SFI demanded immediate action from the government to ensure social justice is not denied and constitutionally mandated reservation is not sabotaged in the educational institutions. The student organisation also stated that SFI will continue to take up the issue with the constitutional authorities and use legal measures as well as struggles to achieve the constitutionally guaranteed representation and social justice to the marginalised sections of the society.
Read the full statement below:
The admission figures provided by Minister of Human Resources Development for the questions raised by Com. K Somaprasad, M.P, and Com. Elamaram Kareem, M.P, yesterday in the Rajyasabha has proven the blatant disregard for Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admissions) Act, 2006 in the IITs. The Central Executive Committee of Students’ Federation of India condemns the lack of initiative on part of the ministry to take IITs to task even after twelve years of the reservations being in existence.
The average representation of SCs, STs & OBCs in PhD programs across all 23 IITs during the last five years is 9%, 2.1% & 23% respectively, against 15%, 7.5% & 27% shares of the total admissions as mandated by the law.
IIT Madras, IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, and IIT Kanpur together accounted for 46 per cent of all PhD scholars admitted between 2015 and 2019. But SC students were only 7 per cent of this population. Of the 23 IITs, 22 IITs did not admit adequate number of SC and ST candidates for PhD programmes between 2015 and 2019. Only 13 have satisfied the OBC quota.
The poor implementation of CEI Act, 2006 in PhD was earlier brought to the attention of the union minister for HRD during December, 2019 through a memorandum from the SFI and through a special mention in the Rajyasabha by Com. T. K. Rangarajan, MP. There has been no follow-up from the ministry to these initiatives till date.
SFI will continue to take up the issue with the constitutional authorities and use legal measures as well as struggles to achieve the constitutionally guaranteed representation and social justice to the marginalised sections of the society.
Released by:
V P Sanu (President)
Mayukh Biswas (General Secretary)
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