Congress Pushes for SC, ST, OBC Quotas in Private Colleges – After Years of Inaction

Congress has raised the demand for caste based reservation in private educational institutions as well. Congress communication cell chief Jairam Ramesh made this demand on Monday. He made this demand while supporting the recommendation of the parliamentary committee, which states that reservation should be given to OBC, SC and ST categories in private institutions as well under Article 15(5) of the Constitution. The interesting thing is that this matter came up about 20 years ago and even after the amendment in the Constitution, the then UPA-1 government backed out from it. This government was led by the Congress itself. It was during the UPA government that the 93rd amendment was made in the Constitution, in which Article 15(5) was introduced.

Congress Flip-Flops
The UPA government had passed the Central Education Institutions Act in 2006 under this provision. Through this, reservation was implemented in government higher education institutions, but there was no such provision for private colleges and universities. Jairam Ramesh said that in 2008, this matter was also heard in the Supreme Court, which upheld it. The court had also said that the question of reservation in admission to private unaided institutions can also be considered. Now, after almost two decades, the Congress has again raised the demand that reservation should be implemented in admission to private institutions, on which it had remained silent during its tenure.

Hypocrisy or Change
Congress issued a statement saying that it is clear from the court's decision that people of SC, ST and OBC society can get reservation in private institutions constitutionally. Let us tell you that in the 2024 general elections also, Congress had promised this reservation in its manifesto. Now the parliamentary committee has also recommended similar reservation, so Congress has again intensified that demand. This committee is headed by Congress MP Digvijay Singh. At present, caste-based reservation is not applicable in any private educational institution in the country. However, experts believe that reservation cannot be implemented on the basis of Article 15 (5) alone. To do this, another law is needed, which supports it.

Congress Pushes for SC, ST
In fact, while hearing a case in 2002, the Supreme Court had said that establishing an educational institution is a fundamental right. Apart from this, it is also the right of the institution to decide what the admission process will be. Experts believe that considering the way the number of high-quality private universities has increased in the country, children from the underprivileged class should also be given priority in admission. This is needed. At present, there has been no response from the Central Government on the demand of the Congress.