Bengal govt clears 17 pc OBC quota in higher education

While in academic year 2011-12 the reservation will be ten per cent ¿ five per cent for Group A and five per cent for Group B ¿ in 2012-13,another seven per cent will be implemented ¿ five per cent in Group A and two per cent in Group B.

The reservation will be applicable to all general degree government colleges (government and aided colleges) and to engineering colleges and medical colleges.

The minister assured that the reservation will not reduce the intake of the general category students and the number of seats will also be increased to keep parity. Along with OBCs,the initiative will benefit minorities.

In February,Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had announced 10 per cent reservation for minorities in government jobs.

The state has included about 1.8 crore of the 2.04 crore Muslims under reservation by bringing them under OBC category.

“About 25 per cent of the state’s population are minorities. While the enrollment of minorities in Primary Education is about 33 per cent,the number dips thereafter and in higher education,the figure is less than their population representation,” said Abdus Sattar,the Minister for Minority Development and Madrasah Development. “For instance,the representation of minorities in medical colleges is 13 per cent.”

Sattar said Category A stands for more backward communities and comprises of 49 categories of OBC minorities and 4 categories of non-minority OBCs. The declaration of reservation ahead of the assembly polls have raised eyebrows.

“I have pursued this issue in the state assembly for eight years and have tabled a calling attention motion six times. The declaration at this time is meant to reap political harvest,” said Nepal Mahato,Congress legislator from Jhalda.

Representatives of various OBC groups have been pressing for reservation in Higher Education.

“Every state has implemented OBC reservation in Higher Education,”said Ashok Sarkar,general secretary of All India RBI Employees OBC association. Andhra Pradesh has 27 per cent,Rajasthan 27,Tamil Nadu 50,Gujarat 27 — and all these states have already implemented it. “In 2008,the Supreme Court cleared the proposal for OBC reservation in higher education institutions like IITs ad IIMs and the state has implemented it after much persuasion,” Sarkar added.