Date:23/05/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/23/stories/2008052357981400.htm

National

Cabinet Committee clears outlay for Central educational institutions

Anita Joshua

Rs.10, 328.20 crore for infrastructure to facilitate increase in student intake

The outlay is of retrospective effect
In next 3 years, student intake will go by 54 p.c.

NEW DELHI: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Thursday cleared an outlay of Rs. 10,328.20 crore for infrastructure development in central educational institutions to facilitate an increase in student in-take as a consequence of introduction of reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) from the upcoming academic year.

The CCEA’s “in-principle” approval for the outlay is based on a recommendation made by the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC). Of the total outlay, Rs. 4,107.91 crore is of a recurring nature and the remaining amount of Rs. 6,220.29 crore would be non-recurring expenditure.

Outlay for 5 years

As per the proposal that was forwarded to the CCEA by the Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry after EFC cleared it in early March this year, the outlay is for a period of five years beginning 2007-08. While the OBC reservation is being rolled out from the coming academic year, the outlay is with retrospective effect as allocations had been made for expansion in the last fiscal itself in anticipation of an expansion.

Over the next three years, the student intake will be increased by 54 per cent in the existing institutions as the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admissions) Act, 2006, provides for a phased introduction of OBC reservation.

The phased roll-out has been provided for to allow universities and colleges to put the necessary infrastructure in place to factor in the increase in student intake without diluting standards of education.

Requirements

The infrastructure requirements — including faculty — had been mapped out by the Oversight Committee set up by the Prime Minister in 2006 to facilitate the implementation of the Act.

Challenged

Though the Committee submitted its report ahead of the last academic session, OBC reservation could not be implemented as it was challenged in Court. Last month, the Supreme Court upheld the Act with the provision that it would not apply to the creamy layer among OBCs.