Delhi University Considers Removing Muslim Reservation From Joint Masters Programme With Jamia Milia Islamia

The Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC) at Delhi University (DU) is reportedly planning to suggest the elimination of the Muslim reservation in admissions in a programme offered in collaboration with Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI).

According to The Indian Express, this collaborative programmer offers a Master of Science (MSc) in Mathematics Education programme under the Meta University concept.

The issue is set to be discussed at the CIC's board meeting on Monday (30 December). The Indian Express received no response to their inquiries from Jamia Millia Islamia.

Initiated in 2013, the programme is a joint venture of DU and JMI. The admission process, carried out via the Common University Entrance Test for Postgraduate Programmes (CUET-PG), presently adheres to a seat allocation strategy that has certain reservations specifically for Muslim candidates.

Out of the aggregate of 30 seats, 12 are designated for the open category, six are allocated for Other Backward Classes (non-creamy layer), four are reserved for the general Muslim population, three are for Economically Weaker Sections, two are for Scheduled Castes, and the remaining three are distributed as one each for Scheduled Tribes, Muslim Other Backward Classes, and Muslim women.

An official said, "It is a different case when it comes to having a quota for the underprivileged as part of caste reservation." However, clarified that this is under discussion and the proposal will be put forth for the Vice-Chancellor's consideration only after the governing body makes a decision.

In recent years, the admission procedure for the MSc program has been completely digitalised, with all enrolments being handled through DU instead of Jamia. An official at the CIC mentioned that since the admissions are now managed by DU, it is under consideration to adopt DU's reservation policy.

The Meta University concept, which the MSc programme is a part of, signifies a transformative change in India's higher education, as stated on its official website. This initiative seeks to generate a collaborative effect by combining resources and expertise from various institutions.

The programme is administratively handled by the CIC, and even though it incorporates multiple universities, the CIC insists that DU's policies should be the dominant ones.

"This is the only degree in the country that bears the logo of two central universities… when a student finishes his/her postgraduation," the official added.

"The committee constituted during the inception of the course in 2013 had decided that 50per cent of the students would be admitted into DU and the other 50 per cent to Jamia," he explained.

The official further stated that although the initial agreement did not detail the distribution of seats, the committee responsible for managing the program's logistics came up with the present allocation model at that time.