The Policy disallowing reservations for SC, ST, and OBCs in private institutions predated the Yogi Adityanath government's tenure in UP - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 9, 2024
A viral message claims that the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has terminated reservations for SC, ST, and OBC candidates in private medical colleges as a measure to phase out unfair caste-based reservation policies. In this article, we aim to fact-check the accuracy of the viral claim.
Claim: Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has terminated reservation for SC, ST, and OBC candidates in private medical colleges.
Fact: According to the existing policy, there are no reservations for SC, ST, and OBC students in private medical and dental colleges, nor in any private unaided institution in the state of Uttar Pradesh. This policy existed long before the Yogi Adityanath government assumed office in the state and was consistent with the directives issued by the Allahabad High Court on this matter. The confusion arose from a 2017 order implemented by the Yogi Adityanath government reiterating that no reservations would be applicable in private institutions. However, it’s important to note that the order was originally issued by the previous Samajwadi Party government, with the Yogi Adityanath government continued. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Private medical & dental educational institutions in Uttar Pradesh indeed do not provide reservations for SC, ST, and OBC categories. However, it’s important to clarify that this absence of reservations is not an initiative of the Yogi Adityanath government, as claimed in viral messages. Rather, such reservations have never been in place to begin with.
The news first emerged in 2017:
The currently viral news first emerged in 2017, following the issuance of an order by the then-newly established BJP government. This order implemented a policy for NEET-based admissions to PG courses, effectively discontinuing reservations for SC, ST, and OBC students in private medical and dental colleges.
However, the specific policy wasn’t initiated by the Yogi Adityanath government; rather, it merely executed an order put forth by the preceding Samajwadi Party government led by Akhilesh Yadav. According to reports dated 10 March 2017, just a day before the UP election results, the Akhilesh Yadav administration issued an order introducing the NEET-based admission policy for PG courses. Clause 7 of the Government Order explicitly stated that there would be no provision for reservation for SC, ST, and OBC students in the admission process of private medical and dental colleges.
The Yogi Adityanath government implemented this order upon assuming power. However, the media overlooked the fact that the order was initially issued by the SP government, presenting reports as if it were a new initiative introduced by Yogi Adityanath.
However, in response to the widespread dissemination of news, casting aspersions on the Yogi Adityanath government, state government authorities clarified that the news was based on an order issued by the previous SP government. Addressing the issue, Dr. VN Tripathi, Director General of Medical Education, stated, “Reservation was never a part of the admission process in private sector medical and dental colleges as per the prevalent policy made in 2006. There has been no change in any policy whatsoever.”
After receiving clarification from relevant authorities, some media organizations revised their articles accordingly. Consequently, over the years, the same news has circulated attributing the removal of reservations to the Yogi Adityanath government. Nonetheless, as previously mentioned, the absence of reservation implementation was already a component of an existing policy and not a new initiative by the Yogi Adityanath government.
Allahabad High Court struck down reservations :
Back in 2006, the Uttar Pradesh government enacted ‘The U.P. Admission to Educational Institutions (Reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes) Act, 2006’, which enabled reservations in both state-aided and unaided private educational institutions. Section four of the act stipulated a reservation of 21% for SC, 2% for ST, and 27% for OBC.
However, several petitions were filed against the ordinance mandating reservations in private institutions. Ultimately, in 2011, the Allahabad High Court ruled that unaided private educational institutes were not obligated to adhere to the reservation rules, as doing so would violate the basic structure of the Indian Constitution. The court rendered its judgment in the Sudha Tiwari vs. Union of India case, which challenged Section 4 of the aforementioned act.
It is possible that after this verdict, the Uttar Pradesh government amended the law, discontinuing reservations in private unaided institutions. The 2006 policy referenced by the authorities during the clarification regarding the non-implementation of reservations could be linked to this judgment. Furthermore, the government order mentioned above in 2017 aligned with this judgment.
To sum it up, the policy disallowing reservations for SC, ST, and OBCs in private institutions predated the Yogi Adityanath government’s tenure in Uttar Pradesh.