SC, ST, OBC, MBC Quotas Ignored in Rajasthan Higher Ed Rosters: AJAK Exposes Flaws

Jaipur- The Rajasthan Higher Education Department is under fire after its recently published recruitment rosters for Assistant Professor posts (1995–2024) revealed glaring discrepancies in the implementation of reservation policies for SC, ST, OBC, and MBC candidates. The rosters, uploaded on the department’s website on 16th June , allegedly violate constitutional mandates and state reservation rules, raising concerns over systemic exclusion of marginalized communities.

Key Irregularities Exposed

Retired bureaucrat Shriram Choradia, President of the Ambedkar Anusoochit Jaati Adhikari Karmchari Association (AJAK), has flagged 16 major anomalies in the rosters, accusing the department of undermining reservation norms. Some critical issues include:

1. Non-Compliance with DOP Guidelines:  The department has failed to maintain rosters as per the Personnel Department’s 24th February 2020 circular, which mandates a standardized format. Instead of starting rosters from 1997 (as required), some were incorrectly initiated from 1995, leading to discrepancies in vacancy calculations. Columns 1 & 2 (Reservation carried forward for SC/ST from previous year) and Columns 8 & 9 (Reservation carried forward for SC/ST to next year) have been left empty, defeating the very purpose of roster maintenance and transparency.

2. EWS Quota Misapplication: Shockingly, the EWS (Economically Weaker Sections) quota, introduced only in 2019, has been wrongly applied to vacancies from 1995 onwards, rendering the rosters "unconstitutional."

3. MBC Backlog Manipulation: The Most Backward Classes (MBC), granted reservation in 2009, have been wrongly allocated posts in pre-2009 rosters, depriving eligible candidates of their rightful share in future recruitments.

4. OBC Posts Merged with Open Category: In subjects like English, Geography, and Sanskrit, OBC-reserved posts have been shown under the general category, potentially excluding OBC candidates in upcoming recruitments.

5. Disabled Candidates Misclassified: In Sanskrit and Political Science, PwD (Persons with Disabilities) candidates have been clubbed under SC quota instead of being given separate reservations, violating disability reservation norms.

6. RVRES Posts Not Included: Rajasthan University Reserved Entrance Scheme (RVRES) posts, which should be part of the main cadre, have been excluded from subject-wise rosters, denying reserved candidates their due benefits.

7. No Separate Rosters for Promotions & Direct Recruitment: The department has merged promotion and direct recruitment rosters, contrary to rules, leading to quota mismanagement.

8. Annual backlog positions for SC/ST candidates have not been updated, making it impossible to track carry-forward vacancies. The department arbitrarily combined rosters of several recruitment years, resulting in errors that may deprive reserved categories of their rightful share in future vacancies.

Choradia’s letter to Chief Minister, Higher Education minister and others highlights that no nodal officer has been appointed to monitor reservation compliance, as mandated. The rosters also ignore UGC’s Career Advancement Scheme (CAS), failing to document how many SC/ST/OBC/MBC faculty members were promoted under CAS, raising suspicions of hidden discrimination.

AJAK has demanded fresh DOP compliant rosters for all subjects, yearwise backlog correction for SC/ST/OBC/MBC, removal of EWS quota from pre-2019 vacancies and appointment of a nodal officer to oversee roster compliance.