NI Bureau
Congress reiterates its commitment to implementing Article 15(5), citing parliamentary recommendations and Supreme Court rulings supporting reservations in private, non-minority institutions
The Congress party on Monday urged the government to enact a law mandating reservations for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) in private, non-minority educational institutions across the country.
In a statement, Congress General Secretary for Communications Jairam Ramesh pointed out that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth, and Sports has advocated for a new law for the implementation of Article 15(5).
Article 15(5) enables the state to make special provisions for the advancement of socially and educationally backward classes, SCs, and STs by providing them access to educational institutions. This shall be applicable for both public and private institutions, except those run by the minority.
In a statement, Ramesh remarked: “The private educational institutions must be covered under Article 15(5), which was promised by the Congress during the last Lok Sabha elections.”
Ramesh added, “The 364th Report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth, and Sports, which had considered the necessity of grants for the Department of Higher Education also suggested a new law for the implementation of Article 15(5). The Indian National Congress reiterates this demand.” The Constitution (Ninety-third Amendment) Act 2005, came into effect on January 20, 2006, when Article 15(5) was incorporated into the Constitution.
The Article states: “Nothing in this article or in sub-clause (g) of clause (1) of Article 19 shall prevent the State from making special provisions by law for the advancement of social and educationally backward classes of citizens, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in regard to their admission to educational institutions including private institutions, whether aided or unaided by the State, except for minority educational institutions as mentioned in Article 30(1)
Providing some historical context, Ramesh explained that the Central Educational Institutions (Reservations in Admission) Act, 2006, was enacted to implement reservations for SCs, STs, and other socially and educationally backward groups in central educational institutions effective from January 3, 2007.
Quoting some judgments, he noted that in the case of Ashoka Kumar Thakur v. Union of India (April 10, 2008), the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of Article 15(5) in respect of the state-run and state-aided institutions while leaving the issue regarding reservations in the private unaided institutions undecided.
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