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Thursday, Sep 21, 2006
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Oversight panel seeks Ministries' intervention

Special Correspondent

Final report delayed by a month

NEW DELHI: Unable to secure proper detailed project reports (DPRs) from most of the Central educational institutions — where reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) is to be implemented from next year — the Oversight Committee has now sought the intervention of the three parent Ministries.

Over the last couple of weeks, the Oversight Committee member secretary Rajiv Ratan Shah has written to the Union Ministries for Human Resource Development (HRD), Agriculture and Health & Family Welfare seeking their assistance in getting the Central educational institutions under them to submit proper DPRs.

In his letter to the secretaries of the three ministries, Mr. Shah asked them to use their offices and influence with the Central institutions to get their reports by September 27, the day the Committee is scheduled to meet to finalise its report.

Already, the report has been delayed by a month — the deadline set for the Committee by the United Progressive Alliance-Left parties was August 31.

At the last count, only five of the dozen-odd Central universities, where the new reservation regime will be applicable, had sent the reports by Wednesday.

Prime mover

Being the prime mover of OBC reservation in Central institutions, the HRD Ministry was quick to send out missives to all those establishments — including the Indian Institutes of Technology and the Indian Institutes of Management — falling within its jurisdiction.

While the failure of the Central institutions to submit the DPRs is one area of concern, the Committee members also lamented the content of the reports.

The reports that have come in leave much to be desired, said a member. The DPRs should provide details about what has to be done to increase intake without affecting quality and how much money would be needed to put the infrastructure — both physical and academic — in place.

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