KOLKATA: Colleges and universities in the state have not provided reservation for the economically weaker section (EWS) even this year due to the pandemic and the way it has disrupted the entire education system shutting down all on-campus activities and rejigging the priority of policymakers.
None of the colleges and universities have mentioned anything about the EWS quota in their admission guidelines which were published on August 2, the first day when they started accepting applications for UG courses.
According to principals, the education department is yet to formulate guidelines on how to implement the EWS quota in educational institutions and notify it to institutes.
In 2019, the Centre approved a 10% quota in jobs and educational institutions for economically weaker sections among general category. The education department was instructed to form its own guidelines for implementation.
The primary criteria to declare a person economically weaker under the Centre’s guidelines are a family income of less than Rs 8 lakh per year, ownership of less than five hectares of agriculture land or home measuring less than 1,000 sqft.
“We have not received any notification about implementation of EWS quota,” said Subiresh Bhattacharya, president of the All Bengal Principals’ Council and secretary of West Bengal Vice Chancellors’ Council.
According to officials in higher education department, the pandemic and how it has forced the administration to rejig its priorities might be one of the reasons that the guidelines have not been framed and implemented from this year.
“The pandemic and subsequent curbs since March 2020 has changed our priorities. We are focussing more on trying to figure out how to bridge the digital divide for online classes, ensure examinations and admissions happen on time and figure out when is the right time to ease restrictions in colleges and universities,” said an official.
The state cabinet passed the decision to implement EWS quota in jobs and education in July 2019 and instructed education department to draw up its own guidelines. A principal said another reason for not implementing it is the fact that seats in general category have not been increased in the past few years.
