The Lok Sabha on December 7 passed the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill to establish Sammakka Sarakka Central Tribal University in Telangana. The establishment of this Central university is obligatory under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.
Replying to the debate, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan countered the Opposition’s charges that enrolment of Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, and Other Backward Class (OBC) students in higher education institutions has come down. Mr. Pradhan said enrolment of OBC students increased by 80% between 2014-15 and 2021-22. “The growth of SC students is 43.8%. Within that, the growth of women students is about 51%,” he said. Ph.D registrations, the Minister said, almost doubled between 2014 and 2023 from 1,17,301 to 2,13,000. “This is an 81% growth,” Mr. Pradhan claimed. He added that the number of women researchers grew by 106% during National Democratic Alliance (NDA) rule.
The Minister, on the complaints that vacancies, especially of teachers, are not filled in Central varsities, said till October 28, there were 18,019 vacancies in academics. “Till this date, within two months, the Centre has filled 11,272 vacancies. In that, 1,402 posts were given to SC [12%], 572 to ST [5%] and 2,321 to OBC [21%] aspirants,” he said. Similarly, out of 6,747 non-teaching staff posts, 854 SC candidates, 307 ST candidates and 1,441 OBC aspirants received appointment orders. “We are working on mission mode to fill rest of the vacancies,” he said reiterating the Centre’s commitment to reservation in higher education.
He also justified the circular of the University Grants Commission (UGC) to higher education institutions to establish selfie points with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pictures at all campuses. He said it was not a compulsory directive. “We have been seeing since childhood that pictures of the President, Prime Minister and Mahatma Gandhi are on the walls in schools and offices. Now, when we are putting up selfie points with pictures of a leader who has made us proud globally and taken the country to different heights, what is your problem? It is a democracy... If you don’t want to click selfies, don’t,” Mr. Pradhan said. “Children are clicking selfies, they are celebrating it. It is not mandatory... but a matter of pride... the Prime Minister of a country is not of any party or class but of everyone,” he added.
