NRI quota: ‘Government does right thing’
Tuesday, 04/09/2012
http://newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/article600154.ece?
With over 23,000 seats lying vacant in private engineering colleges and no demand for seats reserved for non-resident Indians (NRIs), the State Government has done the right thing by rejecting the recommendation of the policy planning body (PPB) to increase the NRI quota, said official sources.
The PPB, regulating admissions to professional institutions, had recommended the Government to increase the seats reserved for NRI students from 5 to 15 per cent of the approved intake capacity with permission to private technical colleges to charge four times of the tuition fees as per the Orissa Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Fixation of Fee) Act, 2007. The private technical institutes had made a strong plea to the Government to reserve 15 pc seats for NRI students and allow them to fill up the seats by conducting a common entrance test.
Responding to a question of Ranendra Pratap Swain, Minister for Employment and Technical Education and Training Pratap Keshari Deb told the Assembly that only two students had taken admission in B.Tech courses against the NRI quota during the last four years. Though there was 15 pc reservation for NRIs in B.Tech courses prior to 2011-12 academic session, only two NRI students took admission in 2009-10. Reservation for NRI students was reduced to 5 pc in the last academic session by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). However, the NRI quota remained vacant. There was admission against NRI quota in 2008- 09 and 2010-11 academic sessions. The NRI quota is reserved for children of people of Indian origin staying abroad. The minister further said counselling for filling up seats, reserved for NRIs, has not started.
The Supreme Court, in its latest order, dismissed the prayer by the Odisha Private Medical and Dental Colleges’ Association (OPMDCA) to fill up the 15 per cent NRI seats.
The association had moved the SC in 2011 to fill up seats under the NRI category by conducting its own entrance examination for the academic year 2012-13.
The association also wanted to fill up the seats that remain vacant after first round of counselling by holding common entrance test for the academic year 2012-13.The association had challenged the provisions in the Odisha Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission of Fixation of Fee) Act, 2007.
Ironically, the State Government reduced the NRI quota from 15 to 5 pc on the recommendation of the PPB last year as per the new guideline of the AICTE. However, this was challenged by Odisha Private Engineering Colleges’ Association (OPECA) in the Orissa High Court and subsequently in the Supreme Court.
