New Delhi, 07 March 2019: Union Cabinet has approved proposal for promulgation of “The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Ordinance, 2019 today, considering the University/ College as a unit instead of ‘Department/ Subject.

The Ordinance will provide for the reservation of faculty in appointments by direct recruitment of persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes(SC), Scheduled Tribes(ST) and the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes(SEBL) in Central Educational Institutions and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

Here it can be mentioned that various students’ and teachers’ organisations were demanding the government to bring an ordinance to restore the 200-point roster taking college or university as a unit for reservation in teaching posts.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) had stated that last March that an individual department should be considered as the base unit to calculate the number of teaching posts to be reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) candidates, considering an order by the Allahabad High Court in April 2017.

The Supreme Court had last month dismissed a review petition filed by the HRD Ministry after its special leave petition against the court order was rejected by the apex court.

The Ordinance will ensure that the Constitutional provisions of reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and the socially and Educationally Backward Classes in the faculty recruitment will be protected and the current impasse in the recruitment would be resolved. The SCs, STs and SEBLs would get their due opportunity to get jobs in the educational institutions as per the Constitutional provisions. It will ensure that the process of recruitment of faculty is resumed and the vacancies filled up.