ABVP urges Centre to resolve faculty quota issue

The RSS-affiliated ABVP has urged the Centre to form a panel to resolve the issue of reservation in faculty positions in universities.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) had in March 2018 announced that an individual department should be considered as the base unit to calculate the number of teaching posts to be reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates.

The order came in the wake of an Allahabad High Court ruling in April 2017.

The Human Resource Development Ministry filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court arguing that calculating the vacancies department-wise would reduce the number of reserved seats.

However, the plea was was rejected by the apex court.

The student body of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) stressed that the benefits of constitutional reservation must be delivered equitably and judiciously.

"ABVP demands government to form a high powered committee, with proper representation of the concerned groups," the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) said.

"The committee must seek solutions in a time bound period, of not more than 30 days, for making a new framework to sort the ongoing issue in order to ensure justice to all sections of the reserved categories," it added.

Under no circumstances, the opportunities for the marginalised classes be curtailed, the student body said further.