New Delhi: A small change in an ordinance that guaranteed 50% reservation to Muslims at Jamia Millia Islamia University could be the reason why enrolment of Muslim students in doctorate programmes this academic year has been conspicuously low.
This could be paving the way for a change in the institution’s minority tag, students believe.
A minority institution requires 50% of its seats to be reserved for a specific minority group. In Jamia’s case, this is for Muslims. The 50% reservation is inclusive of women, students from the Other Backward Classes and Scheduled Tribes of the Muslim community. Established as a central university in 1988, Jamia was declared a minority institution in 2011 under the Article 30 (1) of the Indian constitution by the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI).
Key university PhD programmes have failed to ensure a 50% representation of Muslims. This violates Article 30(1) and also the ordinance released by the university in 2021.
The ordinance from 2021 states that “while granting admission to Ph.D. programme, the Department/ Centre/ Faculty shall pay due attention to JMI reservation policy…If suitable candidates are not available as per JMI reservation policy, the seats shall not be filled.”
However, the latest ordinance passed on November 12, 2024, by the newly appointed vice-chancellor of the university, Mazhar Asif, made a minor yet noteworthy change that eliminated the obligation that the previous ordinance provided to minority students. The phrase “shall pay due attention to JMI reservation policy” was changed to “may pay due attention to JMI reservation policy.”
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.
