A five-judge Supreme Court on Nov. 7 confirmed the validity of the reservation for the economically weaker section (EWS) of society in government jobs and educational institutions.
Under the 103rd Constitutional Amendment Act, which includes the provision for EWS reservation, 10 percent of the seats in higher education institutions (HOIs) will be reserved for those who belong to the EWS category, excluding SCs, STs and OBCs.
The national government has already made resources available for the implementation of the law. To this end, the UGC has also issued instructions to higher education institutions. Still, performance on the ground has remained uneven.
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The UGC had issued orders to all central universities, colleges and presumed universities whose maintenance fees are paid. The authority had instructed them to implement the newly introduced quota policy from the 2019-20 academic year.
The Center has agreed to create 2.14 lakh additional seats in 158 centrally funded institutions for Rs 4,315 crores, the Indian Express reported. The full breakdown of the discharge of the approved funds has not yet been made public. However, it appears that many higher education institutions have not yet received a large part of the promised budget.
A report from the Telegraph suggests that the IIT Delhi has received less than a tenth of the promised funds, while the colleges of Delhi University have received none.
Abha Dev Habib, a teacher at Miranda House College and a former member of the DU executive council, made a comparison, saying that “when the UPA government implemented the 27 percent quota for the other backward classes, it provided sufficient funds in time.” for infrastructure, it increased the effectiveness of the teachers by 54 percent, but this took more than 10 years.”
To ensure that the current EWS quota reservation is implemented without taking away opportunities for other students, the Center has asked higher education institutions to increase enrollment by 25 percent. With funds slowly trickling down, the status of the infrastructure and faculty needed to handle the increased number of students is uncertain.
The reasons for the delay in reaching the funds at the institutions have not yet been disclosed. The status of law enforcement differs from state to state, leading to inequalities between states.
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