Chennai: Tamilnadu Chief Minister M K Stalin today introduced a Bill in State Assembly to provide 7.5 per cent reservation to students from government schools in professional courses like engineering, agriculture, fisheries and law.
Speaking in the Assembly after tabling the bill, Stalin said that very less number of students from government schools enter professional courses due to their poor family background and lack of awareness.
Recalling that the then DMK government in 2006 cancelled the entrance exam for professional courses considering the welfare of the students from rural areas, the CM added: “There are many difficulties in government school students in getting into professional courses. They have to compete with students from private schools.”
The quota is applicable to the students, who have studied from class six to 12 in the State government schools, in admissions to UG courses offered in universities, private colleges, government aided and government colleges.
The main opposition AIADMK unanimously welcomed the Bill at the introductory stage itself. Opposition leader Edappadi K Palaniswami said his party welcomes the Bill. The previous AIADMK regime had enacted a law to provide a similar quota to students to gain admission in medical courses, it may be recalled.
The decision to have special reservation for government school students was based on the recommendation of the justice (retired) D Murugesan committee, which was constituted on 15 June by the DMK government. The committee examined the reasons for poor representation of government school students in professional courses and recommend remedial measures to address the issue.
“It is evident from the commission’s report that there exist de facto inequalities between the government school students and the private school students. The government, after careful examination of the recommendation of the commission, has decided to take affirmative action so as to bring about real equality between the students who studied in government schools and in private schools, by setting apart certain percentage of seats on preferential basis…,” the statement of objects and reasons of the Bill said.