Delhi: In a move set to ignite fresh debate on social justice in education, the Congress party on Wednesday urged the Modi government to act swiftly on a Parliamentary Standing Committee report recommending reservations for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) in private higher educational institutions (HEIs).
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh issued a sharp statement highlighting that the committee, chaired by senior party leader Digvijaya Singh, had submitted its findings to Parliament calling for immediate legislation under Article 15(5) of the Constitution. The provision, introduced by the UPA government in 2006 through the 93rd Constitutional Amendment, empowers the government to mandate reservations for marginalised communities in private educational institutions.
Ramesh reminded the government that in May 2014, the Supreme Court, in Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust vs Union of India, upheld the validity of Article 15(5), clearing the constitutional path for such reservations. Yet, even after a decade, no law has been enacted to give teeth to this provision.
The Committee’s data exposed the stark underrepresentation of marginalised groups in private institutions, including the prestigious Institutions of Eminence (IoEs). SC students accounted for a mere 0.89%, ST students just 0.53%, and OBC students only 11.16% of total enrolments — figures the panel described as “alarmingly low and socially unacceptable.”
Unanimously, the Committee recommended legislation mandating 15% reservation for SCs, 7.5% for STs, and 27% for OBCs in private HEIs across India.
“The demand for social justice in private education can no longer be brushed aside. The ball is firmly in the Modi government’s court,” Ramesh declared, recalling that the Congress party had pledged this very commitment in its 2024 Lok Sabha election manifesto, the Nyay Patra.
