JNU not to give concession to OBC candidates

The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) will not give any relaxation to OBC candidates in its entrance examination for MPhil and Ph.D courses from the upcoming academic session. But they will be entitled to a concession of 5 marks in the eligibility criteria.

A decision in this regard was taken at a standing committee meeting of the university last week, which was attended by Deans of various schools.

At present, the university treats both OBC and General candidates at par when it comes to eligibility criteria for admissions to various courses. 

They need to secure a minimum of 55 per cent marks in the qualifying examination. SC/ST candidates, however, are given a relaxation as they only require only 34 per cent to qualify the examinations.

However, the university has offered a 10 per cent relaxation to OBC candidates at the entrance examination or interview stage. 

The OBC students have been demanding a concession at both the stages for long. Last year, a candidate had also approached the court, challenging denial of admission by JNU as he had stood second in the entrance exam but did not meet the eligibility criteria. “It will be unfair to give the concession at both the stages so it has been decided that the OBC candidates will be given a relaxation in eligibility but they will have to compete with the general category students in the entrance exam or the interview,” a source said.