The National Education Policy (NEP) upholds the reservation policy enshrined in the Constitution, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said on Tuesday, rebutting an allegation that the NEP 2020 seeks to end reservation for the disadvantaged groups.
Last week, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking for a “clear and categorical” response on whether the NEP intended to end the reservation policy. He said there was no mention of the word “reservation” in the NEP.
There is no intention to dilute the provisions of reservation in the country’s educational institutions, Mr. Nishank said in an official statement issued in response to Mr. Yechury’s letter. “The policy affirms the constitutional mandate of reservation enshrined in Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution. I think it does not need any further reiteration of provisions of reservation in the NEP-2020 which is already working within the framework of the Constitution,” he added.
The Minister noted that a number of entrance examinations had already been held since the declaration of the NEP 2020, and that there had been not a single complaint regarding dilution of reservation provisions. Various other programmes and policies were being carried out to bring educational inclusion of SCs, STs, OBCs, Divyang and other socio-economically disadvantageous groups, he added. That includes setting up clusters of different deprived groups, a special gender inclusion fund, and programmes to provide job opportunities, scholarships, bicycles and cash to ensure educational inclusion, said the statement.
