KSO urges to fill up reservation shortfall
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, September 15 2016: Pointing out that the number of Assistant Professors/Lecturers in the State's higher education sector is much below the number of seats reserved, the Kuki Students' Organisation (KSO) has urged the Government to fill up the shortfall at the earliest.

Speaking to media persons at the Kuki Inn here today, KSO president Paotin Lupheng said that the State Government has not been abiding by the Manipur Reservation of Vacancies in Posts and Services (for SC and ST) Rules 2011 which provides 31 per cent reservation of seats for ST in Government employment.

The insidious nature of the Government of Manipur can be gauged by looking at the number of existing Assistant/Associate Professors and Lecturers in Government Colleges and Higher Secondary Schools respectively.

As per information furnished, through RTI Act, by the Directorate of University and Higher Education, the number of ST employees (teaching) in Government Colleges as in March 2016, as per record in MGEL, is only 139 out of the total existing 955 Assistant/Associate Professors, thereby resulting in a huge and staggering shortfall of 157 ST seats.

Moreover, in the recent regularisation of the services of 415 part time college teachers, there was an abysmal low number of STs, with just 31, which is a mere 7.4 per cent implying that there was again a huge shortfall of 97 ST seats.

To make up for these 97 seats for STs, 184 posts of Assistant Professor are allotted to the STs in the present direct recruitment of 280 Assistant Professors through the MPSC.

In the higher secondary school section too, out of 220 lecturers (through direct recruitment), there are only 29 STs (13%), which should have been 68 if 31% of the total seats are fully occupied by the STs, thereby resulting in a shortfall of 39 ST seats.

In the recent regularisation process of 707 higher secondary school lecturers, the number of ST lecturers was a mere 114 (16%), whereas if the Government had followed the 31% norm of reservation, it would have been 219 seats for STs; resulting in a shortfall of 105 ST seats.

To remedy this fallacy, the Government, on November 9, 2014, notified for a new direct recruitment of higher secondary school lecturers through the MPSC wherein 172 seats were reserved for STs.

As per notification served from the Department of Personnel and Training, Govt.of India, excess or shortfall of reservation, which may arise due to change in cadre strength, shall be adjusted/made up in subsequent recruitments, Paotin Lupheng said.

If the present recruitment of Assistant Professors and lecturers does not fructify, the tribals will be perpetually deprived, discriminated and ostracized, he continued.

The different organs of the Government specially the executive and judiciary in dealing with the matter should be considerate and sensitive enough to give fair justice to smoothen out the discrepancy, he appealed.

He demanded that the pending interview result of the Asst.

Professors be declared at the earliest time possible so as to make up the shortfall in ST seats in the Government colleges and higher secondary schools.

If the Government fails to settle this shortfall soon, the KSO and other like minded tribal students' organisations will launch an intense agitation, he added.

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