Students approach CM after Pondicherry University withdraws reservation for locals in a course

At present there are 40 seats each in M.Sc Ecology and M.Sc Environment. Out of 80 seats, 20 should have been reserved for Puducherry students. 
Pondicherry University. (File | EPS)
Pondicherry University. (File | EPS)

PUDUCHERRY: Aspiring students have sought the intervention of Chief Minister V Narayanasamy after the Pondicherry University, a central university, withdrew the 25 percent reservation granted to Puducherry students in M.Sc Ecology and Environment courses in 2020-2021 and converted the seats into All India seats.

Though the University had ensured 25 percent reservations for local students in the M.Sc Ecology and Environment courses along with 21 other courses for several years, this year they suddenly withdrew the reservation after including it in the prospectus released in May this year.

Puducherry students who wrote the entrance examinations for the courses were in for a shock when they found the quota missing in the merit list released a week back. The list does not include students selected under this reserved category for Ecology and Environment. Even on the University’s website, there is no mention of the 25 percent reservation for Ecology and Environment courses, said a student.

At present there are 40 seats each in M.Sc Ecology and M.Sc Environment. Out of 80 seats, 20 should have been reserved for Puducherry students as per the earlier criteria of 25 percent reservation.

The students under the banner of the Educational Rights of Indigenous Pupil Movement(ERIPM) tried meeting the Vice-Chancellor, but due to COVID-19 were not given an appointment, said a member of the ERIPM. 

The Registrar of the University has assured she will look into the matter and said she had not been aware of the development.

Meanwhile, online admissions started on October 15. The students then approached Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy and presented a memorandum seeking his intervention in this regard.
 

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