Admission row: Govt to revise SC ruling

NDTV: "The Supreme Court's bid to give autonomy to private professional colleges may be stopped by the government. Days after the apex court banned government quotas in such institutes, major lobbying by political parties has forced the government today to announce that it may amend the law in the next session.

"We will be bringing in an amendment by the winter session," said Arjun Singh, HRD Minister. The minister's categorical assurance came after a delegation of DMK MPs met the Prime Minister today. They demanded the restoration of government quotas, which used to be 50 per cent of roughly three and a half lakh seats in privately-run professional colleges.

Many of these colleges are in the south and restoring this would be a political advantage for them ahead of assembly elections next year. But the Left has gone one step further and made additional demands. Faced with elections in Kerala and West Bengal next year, leaders of Left parties also met the Prime Minister.

They are demanding an autonomous legal body at the state level to enforce constitutional provisions of reservations. Such autonomous bodies will ensure unaided private colleges admit students of scheduled castes and tribes at the same time not indulging in profiteering.

"The body will see to it that quota for SCs and STs are enforced," said Sitaram Yechuri, Leader, CPI(M). But for all their efforts, a change in the reservation law by the MPs doesn't necessarily mean that the government will ultimately get what it wants, that is, fill half the seats in privately run professional colleges.

Political consensus is building up to overrule the SC judgement abolishing reservations in private unaided professional colleges. Legal experts say, even an amendment or a new law will be under judicial review."