WB govt working on OBC quota in higher education

Updated on: Tuesday, July 20, 2010

The state government is taking steps to introduce reservation for students belonging to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in higher educational institutions, as decided upon in principle earlier, higher education minister Sudarshan Roychowdhury said in the Assembly.

The OBC reservation would be announced in consultation with All-India Council for Technical Education and other regulatory bodies of these institutions. Reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was already there in the institutions.

Later, speaking on a debate on the education department budget, Roychowdhury sought the cooperation of all political parties to end violence and lawlessness in educational institutions. He also said the constitutions of different student unions should be changed and uniformity ensured to improve the situation.

Stressing the need for more colleges and universities to expand the reach of higher education, he said 56 new general degree colleges and 24 new engineering colleges had been set up in the state between 2006-07 and 2009-10. The bill to set up Sido-Kanhu University has received the assent of the governor.

Primary and secondary education minister Partha De told newspersons in the assembly lobby that the government was examining how to implement various provisions of the Right to Education Act. The state was in favour of not declaring any student unsuccessful in examinations up to Class VIII. While a student could be promoted to a higher class, special coaching could be arranged for him/her in subjects in which he/she is deficient.

â€œStudents donâ€™t always fail in examinations because of their own fault. They fail due to the fault of teachers â€” who canâ€™t teach them properly â€” as well,â€ he pointed out. A student could be studying the syllabus of a higher class in one subject and that of a lower class in another subject. The state government is, though, against privatization of education.

WB govt working on OBC quota in higher education

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