Jamia reserves 5 per cent seats for wards of staff despite order

Jamia Millia Islamia has decided to reserve five per cent seats for wards of its employees despite the fact that a similar arrangement was quashed by the Delhi high court in 1997, prompting a few faculty members to raise the issue with President Pranab Mukherjee, Visitor to the varsity.

In a petition to the President, Obaid Siddiqui, a professor at Jamia’s mass communication centre, said, “The high court had in 1997 quashed the five per cent reservation given to sons/daughters/spo-uses of permanent employees of Jamia Millia Islamia, as unjustified.”

“For about a decade such reservations were rightly discontinued, but the university has once again started the process despite a judicial verdict in place,” his petition said.

A decision in this regard was recently taken by university’s executive council that granted approval for reservation of five per cent supernumerary seats (over and above the existing seats) to the wards of Jamia employees in all programmes of study, excluding bachelor’s degree programmes in dental science and architecture.

“This reservation has been resorted to by a resolution of the executive council. This is in violation of the Jamia Millia Islamia Act. The ordinances relating to admissions and reservations have not been amended. The university has deliberately and with malicious intent, followed a back door procedure to justify such reservations,” the petition submitted.

Another teacher of the university said, on condition of anonymity, “There are other universities which have a certain reservation in place for wards of Grade C and D employees, but granting such a benefit to professors and top officials of the university is unjustified.”

Jamia authorities, however, said that the seats will not be reserved from the existing strength, but will be added extra.