Delhi University passed a resolution for 85 per cent quota for city students in Delhi University.
Reviving the demand for reservation for students from the national capital in Delhi University (DU) colleges, the Delhi Assembly on Thursday asked the central government to introduce a 85 per cent quota in 28 DU colleges for the city's students. The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party government said these 28 colleges received funds from the city government and it was only fair that children of its taxpayers were given preference over aspirants from other states.
The assembly's resolution comes at a time the Delhi University is in the middle of the admission process this year for nearly 56,000 seats in 88 affiliated colleges. Of the 2.2 lakh students who applied for admission this year, only half were from Delhi.
Delhi University college do not give local students preference because it is a central university set up under a law enacted by parliament. But there are 28 colleges that receive funds from the Delhi government, 12 of them are completely funded by the state government.
In these colleges, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, said the NDA government should allow them to set aside seats for local students. "Why shouldn't the Delhi tax payers' money be used for education and opportunity of Delhi students," Mr Sisodia stressed.
If the law is coming in the way, the minister said, there is no reason why it could not be amended.
But the Centre is unlikely to act on the resolution. The demand to give preference to Delhi students is more than two decades old and has been rejected every time the city government pushed it for two decades.
It was in this context that the Delhi Government, then led by Sahib Singh Verma, had set up the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University in Delhi back in 1998. Its colleges reserve 85 per cent of its 25,000-odd seats for Delhi students but these colleges only offer professional courses, not the basic science or humanities course. Also, these colleges are pricier because the private colleges have to raise the finances and do not receive substantive government funding.
"We have made our intention clear... PM Modi should move the amendment in parliament for the sake of students," AAP lawmaker Alka Lamba said. "The ball in now in the Centre's court," she added.
Delhi Assembly today passed a resolution to implement 85% reservation of seats for Delhi students in Delhi funded colleges... but is this good news for Dilliwallas or is it a dream far from realisation?