How to Kill Reservation in Job Opportunities of Universities?: The BJP Model

Few days back, Indira Gandhi National Tribal University (IGNTU) has advertised for recruitment of faculty positions. But bizarrely, out 52 teaching posts in 27 different departments of the university, only 1 post is for the reserved category candidates.( Indian Express,14th April,2018) This is a sheer and brazen violation of the constitutionally mandated reservation policies. Ironically, the website of IGNTU declares that the university was visualized: “To provide avenues of education, especially higher education and research facilities primarily for the tribal population of India” and “To disseminate and advance knowledge by providing instructional and research facilities in tribal art, tradition, culture, language, medicinal systems, customs, forest based economic activities, flora, fauna and advancement in technologies relating to the natural resources of the tribal areas.” In a similar brazen fashion, for Central University of Tamil Nadu (CUTN), out of total 65 seats, only 2 seats are reserved for OBC category candidates and none for SC and ST category candidates!

But the IGNTU and CUTN fiascos are no aberration. Recently, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided to make a department-wise roster of teacher vacancies reserved for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates, instead of the earlier norm of reservations based on aggregate posts of the entire university. This retrograde step surely reduces the number of posts for reserved category candidates significantly. The brazen violation of reservation in IGNTU and CUTN faculty position advertisements is only a logical outcome of anti-social justice policies of the ruling regime.

The BJP Government is systematically destroying the educational, job and other opportunities for the marginalized of the country. Today, over 51 lakh Dalit students and over 20 lakh Adivasi students across the country are facing massive crisis due to pending fund of more than Rs 8000 crore and Rs 3,156 crore to SC and ST students’ Post Matric scholarship by the Modi government to the state governments over the last three consecutive years (The Newslaundry, Feb 17, 2018). At the level of higher education, the 5 May UGC Notification 2016, has meant massive seat cuts and consequent decimation of reservation in M. Phil-PhD courses across universities. And now in 2018, through yet another UGC notification on ‘Autonomy’, the govt has unleashed policies which will result into destruction of reservation in both student enrollment and faculty recruitment in leading universities of the country.

This Government desperately wants to make all educational and employment opportunities inaccessible for the majority of the student – youths of the country, especially for those from marginalized sections. On behalf of AISA, we strongly demand that the IGNTU and CUTN must re –advertise the teaching posts with constitutionally mandated reservation policies. We also appeal to the student community to expose, resist and rebuff this dangerous saffron design of killing all provisions of social justice in our campuses.