New UGC formula for reservation of SC/ST: PU panel to make department-wise roster, to be ready in a week

A COMMITTEE formed to look into the new rules laid down by the University Grants Commission (UGC) for reservation of faculty posts under SC/ST category in Panjab University met on Thursday.

The committee discussed the modalities of making a department-wise roster and will also be calculating the number of seats reserved for faculty posts under SC/ST category as per the new rules. An estimate by Chandigarh Newsline revealed that at least in 60 per cent departments of Panjab University, faculty posts will not come under the purview of reservation in any teaching cadre if the new formula is implemented.

On March 5, the UGC circulated a letter to all universities and colleges across India that the roster system will be prepared according to department or subject as a unit for all levels of teachers. The letter also stated that this department-wise roster will apply to total teaching posts in each cadre: professor, associate professor and assistant professor. A judgment passed by the Allahabad High Court in April last year has paved the way for the new formula.

“We only have to make the roster accordingly and we will then know how many posts are reserved for SC/ST category. This work should be completed within a week or so,” said a university functionary. According to information, there are 1,400 sanctioned faculty posts in 78 teaching departments of the university. Out of these, 950 are for assitant professors, 300 for associate professors and 200 for professors. Now, if the old UGC formula was implemented, taking the university as a unit, 202 posts of assistant professors will be reserved for SC/ST, followed by 68 for associate professors and 45 for professors.

Experts have said, according to the new formula, any department that has less than seven posts in a cadre will not come under reservation at all. “Earlier, according to the roster system, every seventh post was reserved for SC and every 14th post for ST. For smaller departments with fewer posts, we will use the L-shaped roster. For example, in such cases, there will be no reservation for every fourth, fifth or sixth time the post is advertised, but for the seventh time which will delay the process which is why there is a fear that there will be no reservation at all,” added the university functionary.

There are pros and cons to the new system, said the university fucntionary, but it is not for doing away with the system of reservation. The university also has to fill 30 vacant posts as granted by the UGC. The reservation roster determines the number of posts in a cadre for different categories according to percentage of reservation. Each post is earmarked for one or the other category and helps in determining the category by which the post, which has fallen vacant, is to be filled up.

Earlier, the roster was made taking the whole university as a unit. But the only difference now is that the roster will be made according to departments or subjects and even the vacancies will be filled up accordingly.
News Source (Indian Express)