Ordinance to Restore SC/ST Faculty Reservation in Universities Approved

Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre Ordinance 2019: The Union Cabinet today approved the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry’s proposal to introduce an ordinance that will restore the 200-point roster for faculty reservation in universities.  

The proposal for promulgation of “The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Ordinance, 2019” has been approved in today’s Cabinet Meeting. 

The Central Educational Institutions Ordinance 2019 ensures that a university will be considered as a unit when appointing faculty and that the quota for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes remains intact. 

However, it should be noted that the ordinance considers the university/ college as a unit instead of ‘Department/ Subject.’   

Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre 2019: Ordinance Benefits 

• It will allow the filling up of 5,000 vacancies in the teachers’ cadre by direct recruitment and improve teaching standards in higher educational institutions.

• Every University will be considered as one unit, as opposed to the 13-point reservation system.

• It will ensure that “the Constitutional Provisions of Article 14, 16 and 21 shall be complied with and stipulated reservation criteria for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Socially and Educationally Backward Classes are also met. 

• Adding to it, the decision is expected to improve the teaching standards in the higher educational institutions to attract all eligible candidates.

Though the move comes only two days after the Dalit and Adivasi rights groups around the countries went on strike to demand a reprieve of the new roster system, an ordinance that will overturn the 13-point roster system.  

There are also demands from the Opposition parties to restore the “200-point roster system” for recruitment as well.  

The University Grants Commission’s new “13-point roster system” introduced in March meant that jobs for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes would reduce. 

The Supreme Court upheld an Allahabad High Court ruling in January that reservation in faculty posts in universities should be applied department-wise and not by treating the university as one unit.