I recently wrote an article about the lack of reservation of seats for Delhi Students in DU. And it would appear that the “Prince That Was Promised” ie Arvind Kejriwal has heard the ‘
And it would appear that the “Prince That Was Promised” i.e. Arvind Kejriwal has heard the ‘pukaars’ of me and many other students who were sick and tired of the lack of such a reservation and had to bear the consequences of the unfair marking scheme difference between various boards.
And finally, on the 29th of June, 2017, the Delhi legislative assembly passed a resolution that would grant reservations would request the center to grant reservations to students of Delhi in DU colleges. But only the colleges funded completely by the Delhi Government.
Currently, 12 colleges in DU are completely, 100% funded by the Delhi Govt. The list is down below.
So, can we breathe a sigh of relief? Can we add a laurel to our prince in shining armor?
Well, kinda. As I mentioned above, the legislative assembly cannot take unilateral and binding decisions for DU as it is a Central Govt. entity. All it can do is request the center to amend the act that established DU to allow for this reservation.
Interesting Content: How To Fail At Getting Into Delhi University Via The ECA Quota
Their reasons are simple. In the words of AAP “If people of Delhi are funding these colleges, don’t they have a right to benefit from them? While thousands from across the country come and study in Delhi University, our students are forced to go outside.”
Over 50% of the applicants are Delhiites, however, such a majority is not visible in the actual people admitted.
This demand is justified, even I am completely in support. Not because I denounce the importance of merit. But because I completely distrust the boards that award these marks.
Now despite the valid concerns and steps in the right direction, this is not a step that will result in a fruitful end for Delhiites.
The assembly can only request. Not do since DU is a central entity. And only a law enacted in parliament can bring about the reservations.
As many have pointed out, just because you pay for the colleges does not mean that you have a right to its seats. Sounds like a weird idea but there is merit to its justification.
The purpose of a central university is to provide education to all. it should not discriminate between people from different states. National integration above all!
Many have also said that if tomorrow other Central Universities such as Lucknow University also start demanding reservations, will that not cascade into an impossible scenario.
Well said! But the concerns still remain valid.
The Delhi government can and does reserve seats in state Universities such as Delhi Technological University, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Ambedkar University and Indra Gandhi Delhi Technological University for Women.
As of now, the Delhi Government has requested the center to pass an act of parliament to get this approved and also filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court.
But the chances are slim, so let’s not get our hopes up.
Let’s say that somehow, this amendment and writ petition follow through and there are reservations in these 12 colleges for Delhi students. What then?
The whole admission process will have to be modified. Modalities of who constitutes a Delhi student and the issue of domiciles will have to be hashed out.
It will also create a disparity between the demographics of various colleges. The students who will be left out under the reservation quota ie the out of state students will decrease the probability of Delhi Students getting into those colleges that are not on the list.
This will create a problem that will be too big in magnitude to deal with easily. And also, this process of reservations is long and arduous owing to the facts that I just mentioned.
It will be a long time before any tangible result is obtained. And so, even though I support this idea, it has made me reconsider it.
And so, here we are, with a brave step, but not too much of a hope for what we are hoping.
Image Credits: Google Images
You would also like to read:
http://edtimes.in/2017/05/5-du-colleges-that-have-made-major-infrastructure-changes/
