THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Government has issued orders reserving 20 per cent of the seats in graduate and post-graduate courses for backward class students. The existing 20 per cent reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will continue.

Briefing reporters after the weekly Cabinet meeting here on Wednesday, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that eight per cent of the seats would be reserved for Ezhavas, 7 per cent for Muslims, 1 per cent each for Latin Catholic/SIUC and OBC Christians and 3 per cent for OBC Hindus.

He said a separate order has been issued reserving 10 per cent seats in graduate and post-graduate classes for those who are below the poverty line from among the forward communities and extending the financial assistance now available to Muslim and Nadar girls to girls from other backward communities and families below the poverty line from among the forward communities.

Mr. Chandy said a separate order has also been issued amending the Kerala State and Subordinate Service Rules.

Appointment chart

Under the new rules, the Public Service Commission/selection authority would prepare and publish a supplementary list of sufficient number of suitable candidates (those with notified minimum qualifications and marks in the selection procedure lowered to the extent necessary), not less than five times the reservation quota, from each community or group of communities for the purpose of satisfying the reservation quota.

The Public Service Commission/selection authority would also publish a provisional appointment chart, at the time of each advice, showing separately the candidates eligible to be selected on open competition basis and candidates eligible to be selected on reservation turns, including details of NJD (Not Joining Duty) and NCA (No Candidate Available) vacancies and forfeited reservation turn vacancies pending, if any, to be compensated.

A final appointment chart would be published at the end of the selection year showing the candidates selected on competition and reservation basis.

Suitable candidates

The order also specifies that `if a suitable candidate is not available for selection from any particular community or group of communities coming under the reservation scheme, such vacancies shall be kept unfilled, notified separately for that community or group of communities for that selection year and filled by direct recruitment exclusively from that community or group of communities. If, after re-notification repeatedly for not less than twice, no suitable candidate is available for selection from the respective community or group of communities, the selection shall be made from available OBC/SC/ST candidates.

If a suitable candidate is not available for selection from the group of communities classified as `Scheduled Castes' in turn allotted from such group, the said group shall be passed over and the post would be filled by a suitable candidate from the group of communities classified `Scheduled Tribes' and vice versa.

The benefit of the turn forfeited to SC/ST by reason of it being passed over shall be restored to it at the earliest possible opportunity if a suitable candidate from that community or group of communities is available for selection by making adjustment against the claims of the SC/ST that deserved the extra benefit by reason of such passing over.

Ceiling

Reservation to a category of posts shall not exceed 50 per cent of the total number of vacancies for which selection is resorted to in a selection year, one selection year being the period from the date on which the ranked list of candidates comes into force to the date on which it expires.

However, the 50 per cent ceiling shall not apply to the filling up of any number of reserved vacancies kept unfilled and notified separately and are filled exclusively by direct recruitment from among a community or a group of communities.

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