MADURAI: With the 10.5 per cent internal reservation for Vanniyars taking effect this year, principals of government arts and science colleges in southern districts worry that many of the seats under the quota may remain vacant for want of applicants.
This is because, barring Dindigul, the districts in the south have a lower concentration of the Vanniyar community than in the north. The colleges here want the State government to allow them to fill up these vacancies from the second phase of counselling itself.
“For the 64 seats available for BCom, the most sought-after course in our college, we have 300 applicants. Out of these, only four are from the Vanniyar community. Going by the 10.5 per cent reservation system, however, seven seats would be allotted to the community. So even if all the applicants join the course, three seats would still be vacant in the first phase of the counselling,” said a principal.
“Conversely, for the four seats available to the DNC (seven per cent reservation), we have 69 applicants, and 15 applicants for the two seats available for the other MBCs,” he added. “According to guidelines on admissions, we can fill up vacancies in MBC (Vanniyar) quota only at the end of the admission process. But, students will not wait till then and could move to private colleges,” he said. Meanwhile, government-aided arts and science colleges and self-financing colleges have almost completed their UG and PG admissions.
Procedure to fill seats
According to guidelines from the Directorate of Collegiate Education, vacancies of MBC(V) quota can be filled with applicants from other communities only after exhausting all counselling phases, said D Pandiaraja, Principal of Thiagarajar College (government-aided)
Official says vacancies can be filled up from round 2, but experts disagree
Responding to the issue, Regional Joint Director of Collegiate Education Pon Muthuramalingam said that government colleges can fill up any quota vacancies from the second round of counselling and that it is mentioned in the guidelines.
Government College Teachers Association (GCTA) president T Veeramani, however, disagreed with this statement. He said that conversion of quota should be done only on the last date of closing the admission. It would be against the quota system if it is done any earlier, he said. “Suppose a candidate from MBC(V) shows up on the last date of the admission, it would be difficult to admit them if the quota has already been filled,” he added. As a solution to the issue, he said that principals can inform waitlisted candidates to come on the last date, so they can get seats during the conversion.
Association of University Teachers president P Thirunavukkarasu said that the previous State government granted the internal reservation of 10.5 per cent to MBC(V) without conducting a survey, leading to this problem. There is a difference in the composition of populations in the north and south of the State, he said. “Recently, a government aided college in Coimbatore invited applications from eligible candidates for permanent teaching vacancies. But, only a few eligible applications were received for the MBC (Vanniyar) quota,” he said.
Commenting on the matter, PMK treasurer M Thilagabhama said: “The State government effected the internal reservation of 10.5 per cent based of the population in the State. Members of this community can avail the reservation in employment and education wherever they reside in the State,” she said.