Parliamentary panel urges law for SC, ST, OBC quotas in private higher education institutions

Pointing to the “abysmally low” Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) reservations, and “considerably low” Other Backward Classes (OBCs) reservations in private higher educational institutions (HEIs), the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports has strongly recommended extending reservations to these institutions, arguing that the absence of such measures undermines the constitutional promise of social justice in higher education.

The panel, headed by Congress leader Digvijay Singh, urged Parliament to enact a law mandating 27 per cent reservation for OBCs, 15 per cent for SCs and 7.5 per cent for STs in private HEIs, and said the Right to Education (RTE) model implemented in schools should be followed in HEIs as well, where the government would take care of financial compensation.

What panel said

“The Committee notes that Article 15(5) of the Indian Constitution explicitly empowers the State, as defined in Article 12 of the Indian Constitution, to include private aided and unaided institutions of higher education in the scheme of reservations for SCs, STs, and SEBCs (Socially And Educationally Backward Classes). However, private educational institutions are currently not legally obliged to implement reservation policies since there is no statute mandating them to do so. The Committee, therefore, recommends that Article 15(5) of the Indian Constitution be implemented in full across the country through legislation by Parliament. The Committee recommends that 27%, 15% and 7.5% seats should be reserved for OBCs, SCs, and STs respectively in private higher educational institutions,” it said in the report tabled in the Rajya Sabha on August 20.

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While noting that the fee of private universities was “substantial” and “that students from marginalised sections of society may not be able to afford these fees”, the Committee said, “The Committee however notes that in the interest of fairness, any introduction of reservations for SCs, STs, and OBCs in private HEIs must be fully covered financially by the Government. The Committee notes that the introduction of 25% quota in private schools under Section 12(1)C of the Right to Education Act is fully reimbursable by the schools from the Government – this is the model which the Government must follow in private HEIs as well.”

Committee cites SC judgments

BITS Pilani’s annual tuition fee, for example, stands at Rs 5.5 lakh for undergraduate courses, while Jindal’s law programmes charge Rs 6.5 lakh annually, excluding hostel charges.

The panel cited various Supreme Court judgments to assert that reservations in private unaided institutions are constitutionally permissible. It also furnished data by institutions such as BITS Pilani, O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU), Shiv Nadar University, and Ashoka University to reveal that the share of SC, ST and OBC students in their campuses remained very low. At BITS, for instance, SCs accounted for just 0.5 per cent and STs for 0.08 per cent of the 5,137 students in 2024-25, while OBCs were around 10 per cent. Similarly, at O.P. Jindal Global University, out of 3,181 students, only 28 were SCs and 29 were STs, less than 1 per cent each. Shiv Nadar University reported 48 SC and 29 ST students out of a total of 3,359 enrolments.

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The committee contrasted these numbers with the All-India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) 2022-23 data, which showed that in private HEIs overall, OBCs comprised 40 per cent, SCs 14.9 per cent and STs 5 per cent. However, it also pointed out that some of the AISHE data was “unreliable” and asked that it “must be conducted yearly” and that there be “quality checks to improve the accuracy of the data”.

Legally bound to implement quotas

The report stresses that while public institutions are legally bound to implement quotas, private HEIs, which now constitute nearly two-thirds of India’s colleges, remain outside the ambit of affirmative action. This, the committee observed, risks excluding marginalised communities from accessing quality education as private institutions grow in prominence under the National Education Policy’s (NEP) target of a 50 per cent gross enrolment ratio by 2035.

Importantly, the Committee flagged that private universities may lack the infrastructure to implement quotas without cutting into general category seats. It, therefore, recommended that both the Centre and states provide dedicated funds for classroom expansion, hostels and faculty hiring to avoid reducing opportunities for other students.

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“The Central and State Government should also supplement resources through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in education. The Department of Higher Education through Higher Education Funding Agency (HEFA) should provide low-interest loans to HEIs/Universities for infrastructure expansion, ensuring no reduction in General category seats to avoid reducing General category opportunities,” the report said.

Enforce strict anti-discriminatory policies

The Committee also recommended that the Department of Higher Education (DHE) should ensure compliance of reservations “through a central oversight/monitoring body like UGC (University Grants Commission), National Commission for Backward Classes and SC/ST Commissions to monitor implementation of Article 15(5) of Indian Constitution, ensuring these institutions report admission data annually”.

It asked that HEIs should enforce strict anti-discriminatory policies and “mandatorily collect data on the caste category of all applicants as well as admitted students”.

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“It is important for HEIs and the Department to understand the social composition of the student body as well as the prospective pool of applicants. The current system of making caste declaration optional may result in a caste-blindness of the admissions process. Applicants and students may however be given the choice to declare that they do not have a caste identity,” the Committee said.

Key challenge

Beyond quotas, the committee emphasised the need for support structures for first-generation learners. It recommended bridge courses, remedial coaching and hostel scholarships, pointing to Ashoka University’s Academic Bridge Programme and Azim Premji University’s Socio-Economic Disadvantage (SED) index as models. The SED system adjusts admission scores based on disadvantage markers like caste, income, and parental education, giving marginalised students a fairer chance.

A key challenge, the panel said, is that many SC/ST/OBC students do not even apply to elite private universities due to a lack of awareness, digital divides, and limited guidance. It urged the Education Ministry to work with NGOs, Navodaya schools and community leaders to spread information and support applications. Universities like Ashoka, which already run outreach programmes in Haryana schools, were cited as examples of good practice.

In a statement after the report was tabled in Parliament, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, “It is no longer possible to ignore the legitimate demand of SC, ST, and OBC communities for reservations in private higher educational institutes. In its 2024 Lok Sabha election “Nyay Patra”, the Indian National Congress had committed itself to bringing legislation to implement Article 15(5) of the Constitution of India in private education institutions. The Parliamentary Committee has now given renewed impetus to this demand. The ball is now in the Modi government’s court.”

What experts said

Former UGC Chairman Sukhdeo Thorat, a renowned educator and social justice scholar, who has chaired various committees on affirmative action, also welcomed the report and stressed the need for implementation.

“It's a necessary step, but the only thing now is that the state has to pass a regulation. Because these three communities, SC, ST, and OBC, particularly, were denied education rights and therefore their enrolment rate is very low. It's low compared to others,” he told The Federal.

“Secondly, because of the high fee structure, their share in the private unaided institutions is very low. It is low compared to the high-income groups. So they mostly depend on public institutions. They should also have equal access to the private unaided institutions,” he said.

Thorat said reserved category students should also be provided with a scholarship or fee waiver, and hostel accommodation.

O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) said it was “committed to implementing any legislation passed by the Government of India regarding admissions for reserved categories”.

“The institute upholds the values of diversity, inclusion, and equal opportunity in both admissions and recruitment. Efforts are made to ensure fair representation of individuals from all social and educational backgrounds, including those from SC, ST, and OBC communities,” Chief Communications Officer Anjoo Mohun told The Federal.