OBC quota in Navodaya Vidyalayas likely

New Delhi, Jan 18, 2017, DHNS:

Absence of reservation an anomaly, says HRD minister

The Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNV) may soon introduce quota in admission for students belonging to Other Backward Castes (OBCs).At present, the government run-residential schools provide reservation in admission to students belonging to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) only.

Addressing the national cultural integration meet of JNV students on Tuesday, Minister of State for Human Resource Development (HRD) Upendra Kushwaha described the absence of a quota system for OBC students as an “anomaly”, and assured that the government will soon take steps to “rectify” it.

HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar was also present on the occasion.
The JNVs, which fill their seats with 75% children from the rural areas, admit SC/ST
students under a flexible quota system.

The seats are reserved in proportion to the SC and ST population in the district, provided that marking of seats for such students should not be lesser than 15% for SC and 7.5% for ST.

The total seats reserved for SC and ST students should also not go beyond 50% of the total number of seats.

Kushwaha, who is in charge of the elementary education department of the HRD Ministry, had expressed displeasure on a previous occasion too.

Addressing the event, Javadekar expressed dissatisfaction with the number of girl students in JNVs.

Need more girl students
“Just 39% of the total students are girls. This is not good. We must make efforts to increase the enrolment of girls in the JNVs,” the HRD minister said.

One-third of the total seats are reserved for girls in admissions to the JNVs. A total of 600 JNVs are functioning in the country.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs recently approved the establishment of 62 new JNVs in 18 states, three of which will to be opened in Kolar, Ramanagara and Kalaburagi districts.

“We will open more JNVs in the coming days,” Javadekar added.

 

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/592037/obc-quota-navodaya-vidyalayas-likely.html

Train services to Hisar hit by Jat protests

HISAR/ FATEHABAD: As a part of their indefinite protest for reservation in government jobs, Jats blocked train services from Hisar and Fatehabad toDelhi for the sixth day on Saturday.

The community leaders threatened that if their demand for reservations were not met by Monday, they will block rail and road connectivity in the NCR region.

The agitating community leaders on Saturday laid seize on four rail routes by removing the fish plates in Hisar and Fatehabad.

With cancellation of 60 trains, 80,000 passengers were stuck at different stations and railways have lost about one crore rupees so far. “We have to divert the route of Delhi bound trains from Punjab as the agitators have blocked 7 lines in Haryana,” said Radhey Shyam Meena, station superintendent, Hisar.

Meanwhile, the situation became tensed in Ramayan village when an agitators, who is on hunger strike, complained of heart problem. Kitab Singh, 65, was rushed to district primary health centre (PHC). After treatment, Singh was declared out of danger.

The Jats also held protest at Narwana, affecting rail traffic on the Delhi-Ferozepur section, he said. “Buses on various routes, however, were running undisrupted,” a spokesman of Haryana Roadways said.

“The agitation will continue till our demand is met,” a spokesman of the All India Jat Reservation Action Committee said. A number of protesters, including women, have been staging sit-ins on the rail tracks since March 5, demanding 27% reservation in central jobs under the OBC category.

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/Train-services-to-Hisar-hit-by-Jat-protests/articleshow/7690397.cms

Jat agitation grips other states

LUCKNOW: The Jat agitation demanding reservation in central services and in states of Punjab, Haryana and Jammu under other backward class (OBC) category spread to other parts of UP and adjoining states on Saturday.

While the rail route blockade at Kafurpur in JP Nagar continued for seventh day, Jatwala Khap panchayat of Jats in Muzaffarnagar served an ultimatum that it will block all roads to Delhi from their district if the demand was not met in next 48 hours. Reports of Jats blocking the roads and holding demonstrations also poured in from Haryana and Punjab. Jats may hold a protest in Delhi on Sunday.

In UP, Jats under the banner of All India Jat Arakshan Samiti have blocked the rail tracks in Kafurpur for past one week, causing a loss of over Rs eight crore to railways and inconvenience to over two lakh people. All major trains connecting Uttarakhand and west UP to Delhi are not plying on the route since the start of the agitation. Trains to other parts of UP and beyond have been diverted, leading to 10-12 hours delay in movement.

No relief appears in sight as the Central government has not taken any concrete step so far to persuade Jats to withdraw the agitation. The talks between Jat delegation and Union cabinet secretary KM Chandrashekhar remained inconclusive on Thursday. While the Centre wants more time to consider the demand, Jats said they will not lift the siege till their demand is met or they get an assurance either from UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi or Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi.

All India Jat Arakshan Samiti president Yashpal Mallik said the demand of reservation for the Jat community, which includes Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs settled in different parts of north India, is 20 years old. For past three years, he added, Jats have been peacefully agitating. “Several times in the past we withdrew our agitation on the assurance of the government but this time we want something concrete,” he said. He also pointed out that when Jats have already been provided reservation under OBC category in UP and Rajasthan, why the Centre is reluctant to implement it in the central services. While thanking UP chief minister Mayawati for her support, Mallik said the agitation is non-political. “Anybody who wants to support us can do so but no party politics or self-promotion will be allowed from our platform,” he said. Political parties, barring the Bahujan Samaj Party, have been silent over the issue so far.

Meanwhile, rail services were disrupted at Hisar in Haryana due to the Jat stir. The rail traffic was affected on Hisar-Bhiwani, Hisar-Jakhal and Hisar-Sadalpur, a railway official said. The Jats also held protest at Narwana affecting rail traffic on Delhi-Ferozepur section. Six khap panchayats of Narwana in Haryana have decided to support the agitation. In Punjab, Jats blocked the Amritsar-Jalandhar rail section at village Khilchian near Amritsar. Jat leaders said they are planning to hold an agitation at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Jat-agitation-grips-other-states/articleshow/7689244.cms