MoE asserts no de-reservation of reserved posts

The Ministry of Education (MoE) has clarified that, according to the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Act, 2019, no reserved posts can be de-reserved. This comes in response to draft guidelines proposed by the University Grants Commission (UGC), suggesting that if an adequate number of candidates from Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) are not available, vacancies reserved for them could be declared unreserved.

The ministry tweeted, “Reservation in Central Educational Institutions (CEI) is provided for all posts in direct recruitment in the Teacher’s cadre as per the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Act, 2019. After the enactment of this Act, no reserved post is to be de-reserved. The Ministry of Education has given directives to all the CEIs to fill up the vacancies strictly as per the 2019 ACT.”

The UGC had issued draft guidelines on December 27, 2023, proposing the de-reservation of vacancies meant for SC, ST, and OBC candidates in higher education institutes (HEIs) if there were insufficient candidates from these categories. The draft guidelines were released for public feedback, with the last date for providing opinions being today.

The draft guidelines acknowledge a general ban on dereservation of reserved vacancies in direct recruitment but mention rare and exceptional cases in Group A services. In such cases, the concerned university may propose de-reservation by providing information on efforts made to fill the post, reasons for not allowing it to remain vacant, and justification for de-reservation. The proposal for de-reservation in Group C or D should go to the Executive Council of the University, while for Group A or B, it should be submitted to the Ministry of Education for approval.

The guidelines also address the shortfall and backlog in reserved vacancy posts, suggesting that universities should attempt to fill vacancies by calling for recruitment for the second time as soon as possible. In the case of promotions, if a sufficient number of SC and ST candidates fit for promotion against reserved vacancies are not available, the guidelines suggest that such vacancies may be de-reserved and filled by candidates from other communities.