Ex-Union Minister Srikant Jena Of Odisha Demands Hike In Quota For SCs & STs In Medical & Engineering Courses

Bhubaneswar: Former Union minister Srikant Jena and former MP Anant Prasad Sethi have demanded revision of reservation for SCs and STs in higher education in Odisha from 2024-25 academic session.

In a letter to chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, the two leaders said the state government had announced in 2015 to increase the reservation for the backward sections of the society, scheduled caste (SC) and scheduled tribe (ST), would be increased from 20% to 28.75%.

The revised reservation would be applicable to the government and private higher education institutions, particularly those offering medical and engineering courses and universities, in the state, the government had stated.

“The Higher Education department of Naveen Patnaik led government also issued a letter in the same year directing the educational institutions to strictly followed the revised reservation. While 22.5% of seats was reserved for the ST students, 17.25% was reserved for the students of SC category,” Jena and Sethi said in the letter.

They said it was unfortunate that the government’s order has not been implemented till date though the two backward sections comprise around 52% population of the state as per the census. “Since the admission process in medical and engineering courses and universities for 2024-25 academic session is about to start, we appeal to you to implement the revised reservation for the backward classes of the society,” they added.