Delhi: The members of All India OBC Students Association have expressed their gratitude towards the Union Government for its decision to implement 27 percent reservation for the OBC community in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).
The members of the students' body, on Monday held a meeting with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The students from the OBC association shared valuable suggestions with the Union minister on ways to ensure empowerment and welfare of their community, Pradhan as quoted saying by IANS.
"I assured them that the Central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will work and do everything possible to widen the spectrum of opportunities for the marginalised and weaker sections of the society," he added.
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"Met students from the All India OBC Students Association. They expressed their gratitude to PM @narendramodi for implementing 27% OBC reservations in the All India Quota of NEET examinations and for his commitment to ensuring dignity, justice & opportunities to OBC communities," Pradhan said in a series of tweets.
"The students also had valuable suggestions on ways to ensure the empowerment and welfare of OBCs. I assured them that PM Modi ji's govt. will work and do everything possible to widen the canvas of opportunities for the marginalized and vulnerable sections," he added.
The government had last month announced that a 27 per cent quota for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and 10 per cent quota in the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category in the All-India Quota scheme for undergraduate and postgraduate medical and dental courses will be implemented from the current academic year 2021-22.
All India OBC Students Association (AIOBCSA) has also posted on social media stating, "Privileged to felicitate Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan along with students from JNU, DU, and UoH for implementing OBC Reservations in AIQ of NEET and given representation on various OBC issues in HEIs. He positively responded to our demands."
Previlaged to felicitate Shri. @dpradhanbjp ji, @EduMinOfIndia along with students from JNU, DU and UoH for implementing OBC Reservations in AIQ of NEET and given representation on various OBC issues in HEIs. He positively responded on our demands. pic.twitter.com/6YMgLZyPHe
— All India OBC Students Association (AIOBCSA) (@aiobcsa) August 23, 2021
It has been a long-standing demand from medical aspirants to give Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservations in the all-India quota of medical education. Several litigations have also been made in various courts of the country but the issue has been pending for a long time including the state of Tamil Nadu and UT Puducherry.
Previously, team had reported that reviewing the situation of OBC and EWS reservation in All India Quota (AIQ) for MBBS, BDS, and PG medical seats, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had directed the concerned ministries to resolve the matter on priority, and finally, the last month, the matter was announced. Bahujan Samaj Party(BSP) president Mayawati termed the Centre's decision to give OBC Quota in medical colleges admission as a late step and claimed that it was a decision for political interest.
Also Read: OBC, EWS reservation in AIQ MBBS, BDS, PG Medical admissions: PM Modi directs ministries to resolve issue on priority
IANS reports that this year, NEET (Undergraduate) 2021 exams will be conducted across the country on September 12 following all necessary Covid-19 protocols. This is the first time that NEET will be conducted in 11 other languages, including Punjabi and Malayalam.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) is arranging the entrance test centres across various cities on the basis of preference of the students appearing for NEET. The cities are being allotted based on the preferences given by the candidates.
"To ensure maintaining social distancing norms, the number of cities where NEET exams will be conducted has been increased from 155 to 198. The number of examination centres has also been ramped up," Pradhan added.