UGC likely to reduce reservation in SC/ST, OBC faculty posts?

Bhubaneswar/New Delhi: The University Grants Commission’s (UGC) new formula to implement reservation in teaching posts is likely to reduce the number of SC, ST and OBC faculty on university campuses.

The HRD Ministry will soon decide on the UGC’s new formula in teaching posts.

The UGC wants the number of reserved faculty posts to be calculated department-wise and not based on the aggregate posts in a university, as stated the Indian Express, a leading national daily.

This proposed change might affect the reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs, believes P S Krishnan, former secretary to the central government and an expert on the subject.

UGC has made the decision in response to the directive of the Allahabad High Court in April this year that ‘reservation in teaching posts has to be applied department-wise by treating the department as a unit and not the university’ else it would violate Article 14 and 16 of the Indian Constitution.

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The court even criticised UGC stating that it was having a “blanket manner” towards the reservation issue and it must revisit its implementation.

Acting on the court’s decision, the UGC is believed to have approached the HRD Ministry and is waiting for its “concurrence”.

The change in the reservation is expected to be notified soon through an executive order after the ministry’s nod.

As of April 1, 2017, as many as 5,997 teaching positions are vacant at 41 UGC-funded central universities across the country- 2,457 assistant professor, 2,217 associate professor and 1,098 professor posts.

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