The Delhi Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution to reserve 85% seats for local students in colleges affiliated to the Delhi University. The state government fully or partially funds 28 of the 110 affiliated institutes.
The Assembly also passed a resolution to urge the Centre to amend the Delhi University Act, 1922, which disallows another state university to have affiliated colleges of its own. The Delhi government’s statement on the resolution says that this provision will not apply if the Centre granted permission “by order in writing”.
The provision does not apply to Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University – a state university with colleges affiliated to it – as is explicitly mentioned in the legislation.
The Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi has been discussing the subject of reserving seats in DU for Delhi-ites since the Aam Aadmi Party came to power in 2015. However, it has not been able to push for it as DU is funded centrally by the University Grants Commission.
“There are over 2 lakh students who graduate from schools in Delhi,” read the government’s statement explaining the move. “Many of them are struggling to get admission in higher education institutions.”
The AAP had earlier contended that since the funding for these colleges came from residents of Delhi, the locals students had a right to benefit from them. “While thousands from across the country come and study in Delhi University, our students are forced to go outside,” the AAP government had said in a letter to the DU vice chancellor.
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