While answering to a question in Parliament on 12th December 2019, Minister of Human Resource Development Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said the following statement.
“The University Grants Commission (UGC) had issued guidelines vide letter No. F.1-5/2006(SCT) dated 25th August, 2006 to all Central Universities/Deemed to be Universities and State Universities for ensuring implementation of Reservation Policy for the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) to all teaching and non-teaching posts. These guidelines inter-alia provided for preparation of reservation rosters by considering a University as a ‘Unit’.
Check also: UGC Reservation Policy Order No. F.1-5/2006(SCT) issued on 25.8.2006 – Downlaod pdf
The Hon’ble Allahabad High Court in its judgement to W. P. No. 43260 of 2016 dated 7.04.2017, ruled that reservation rosters should be prepared by considering the Department as a ‘Unit’ instead of University as a ‘Unit’. Implementation of this judgement would have adversely affected the representation of SCs and STs in faculty recruitment. SLPs and Review Petitions filed by Ministry of Human Resource Development and UGC, against the impugned judgement, were dismissed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court.
To uphold the Constitutional Provisions for safeguarding the interests of SCs/STs and Socially and Educationally Backward Classes the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers Cadre) Ordinance, 2019 was promulgated on 7.3.2019.
The same was subsequently repealed and the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers Cadre) Act, 2019 was notified on 9.7.2019 to ensure preparation of rosters by considering the University as a ‘Unit’.
The provisions of reservation are not applicable to the Minority institutions covered under Article 30(1) of the Constitution”.
Check also: Implementation of Reservation Policy – UGC