Paswan hails clearance of ordinance on university faculty quota

LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan hailed the cabinet clearance of an ordinance on reservation mechanism for appointment of faculties in universities, saying the move restores the rights of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

"I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this decision. The rights of Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) are restored. This reflects the commitment of the government towards SC/ST," Paswan told reporters after the cabinet meeting.

The current 13-point roster -- that considers individual department as the base unit to calculate the number of teaching posts to be reserved for the SC and STs candidates -- framed following an order by the Allahabad High Court in April 2017 was not benefitting SC/ST candidates, he said.

"For a professor post, SCs were getting lesser quota of 4 as per the 13-point roster instead of 133 as per the earlier 200-point roaster. Similarly, the quota for STs and OBCs for faculty post were reduced," he explained.

Union Food Minister Paswan, whose LJP is an ally of the BJP, said the earlier system of 200-point roster took college or university as a unit for reservation in teaching posts.

"The restoration of this quota through an ordinance is a step in the right direction," he added.