• The Union Cabinet approved a proposal for promulgation of The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Ordinance, 2019 to restore the earlier 200-point roster-based reservation system in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).

About:

• The Cabinet has approved proposal for promulgation of The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Ordinance, 2019 to provide for the reservation of faculty in appointments by direct recruitment of persons belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBL) in central educational institutions and for matters connected there with.
• The new system will consider the university or college as one unit, instead of treating department or subject as one unit. The ordinance will ensure that constitutional provisions of reservation for SC, ST and SEBL in the faculty recruitment will be protected and current impasse in recruitment would be resolved. The decision will also now pave the way for filling up of more than 5,000 vacancies by direct recruitment in teachers’ cadre.

Background:

• There has been agitation urging the government to bring an ordinance to restore the 200-point roster taking college or university as a unit for reservation in teaching posts.
• The University Grants Commission (UGC) had announced last March that an individual department should be considered as the base unit to calculate the number of teaching posts to be reserved for the SC and ST candidates, following an order by the Allahabad High Court in April 2017. The Supreme Court had last month dismissed a review petition filed by the HRD Ministry after its special leave petition against the court order was rejected by the apex court.