Eye on polls: Govt okays quota for Delhiites in DU

Severely altering the ‘national’ character of Delhi University, the city government on Wednesday introduced reservation for the students from Delhi in the colleges funded by it. 

There are 28 colleges which are funded by Delhi government, of which 12 are fully funded and another 16 get five per cent recurring grant from the government. The move is targeted at wooing voters as the BJP planned to make it into a poll issue. 

However, sources in Delhi University said, the announcement alone meant little as the reservation policy will have to be adopted by the Executive Council of the university. Delhi University is governed by a parliamentary Act and decision by a funding agency alone cannot change existing university rules.

Announcing the government decision, minister for higher education Ashok Kumar Walia said, ‘The Delhi government has decided to provide 90 per cent reservation to the students from Delhi in 12 colleges which are 100 per cent funded by it. It has also been decided that in colleges, where the Delhi government is providing 50 per cent grant for their capital work and five per cent as the recurring grant, reservation to the extent of 50 per cent be provided to the students from Delhi.’ He added that the government will send these recommendations to the University of Delhi and to the ministry of home affairs for approval.

Walia said that in the two categories mentioned above, students from Delhi would be taken as those who have passed the qualifying examination of the Class 12  from schools located in Delhi. Though there is no data available with these colleges as to how many students from Delhi are studying in these colleges, it is estimated that nearly 17,000 students of Delhi are studying in these colleges. Once the said recommendations are accepted, it will provide additional seats to about 19,000 students from Delhi.

Higher education minister announced that as far as the female students from Delhi are concerned, it has been decided that an additional weightage of five per cent marks obtained by the female students in the qualifying examination of Class 12 class should be given in both Delhi and non-Delhi student categories.

Meanwhile, city BJP chief Vijay Goel said, ‘We have been raising this demand for the last many years and our pressure has compelled the government to initiate this move.’