JNU forms panel to examine allegations of ST reservation violations in PhD admissions

Jawaharlal Nehru University has constituted a five-member committee to look into complaints regarding reservation of ST seats in PhD programmes, following representations received from student organisations. According to a notification dated October 26, the committee was constituted by the vice-chancellor to examine the representations regarding Scheduled Tribe (ST) seats in PhD programmes.

Irregularities alleged in implementation of reservation norms

The panel is headed by Vivek Kumar, dean of the School of Social Sciences, and includes the university's ST liaison officer, chief adviser of the Equal Opportunity Office, deputy registrar (legal) and assistant registrar of the SC/ST/OBC Cell as members. The committee has also been authorised to co-opt additional members, if required. The move comes amid allegations of irregularities in the implementation of reservation norms in PhD admissions for the 2026-27 academic session by student organisations. 

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The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) has demanded student representation in the committee. According to the Students' Federation of India (SFI), of the 711 PhD seats, only 38 have been allocated to ST candidates against the 7.5 per cent reservation requirement, resulting in an alleged shortfall of 15 seats. The organisation has also flagged alleged discrepancies in the allocation of seats under the Scheduled Caste (SC) and Persons with Disabilities (PwD) categories. The National Commission for Scheduled Castes has taken cognisance of the matter following a complaint by Gopika Babu, JNUSU vice-president.