Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy has sought the intervention of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar to ensure the implementation of 25 percent reservation for local students in all courses offered by Pondicherry University, citing longstanding demands, past policy decisions, and recent recommendations.

The request was made during the Vice President's two-day visit to Puducherry, where he serves as the Chancellor of the University. The Chief Minister submitted a detailed memorandum, underlining the need to implement the quota system across all academic programmes, including new-age professional and job-oriented courses.

Past Policy Decisions Ignored in New Courses

The memorandum recalled that in 1997, based on popular demand, the academic council and executive committee of Pondicherry University had approved reservation for Puducherry students in select courses.

Initially, the reservation was implemented in 8 courses, and later expanded to 18 programmes. However, despite the University launching more professional and prestigious courses over time, the reservation was not extended to these newly introduced programmes.

“This denial sowed seeds of discontentment in the minds of the youth of the Union Territory,” Mr Rangasamy said, as quoted in the memorandum.

Assembly Resolution and Committee Recommendation

Backing the Chief Minister’s demand, the Puducherry Legislative Assembly had earlier passed a resolution urging 25 percent reservation in all 64 courses currently offered by the University. This resolution was aimed at ensuring equity and opportunity for local students who often face stiff competition in national-level admissions.

A three-member committee had also examined the issue and recommended uniform reservation for Puducherry residents across all courses. The academic council accepted the recommendation during the 2013–14 academic session, but the University has not implemented the policy till date, the Chief Minister highlighted.

Need for Equitable Representation in Higher Education

The Chief Minister argued that local students are often disadvantaged when competing with students from other parts of the country, especially in high-demand professional courses like engineering, law, management, and science programmes.

He said introducing a uniform 25 percent reservation policy will help level the playing field and encourage more students from the Union Territory to pursue higher education, especially in prestigious streams.

This is especially important, he added, in view of the fact that Pondicherry University is a Central University, and one of the few institutions of national importance in the Union Territory. Ensuring local representation in such an institution is critical for inclusive growth, the memorandum argued.

Vice President’s Role as Chancellor

As Chancellor of Pondicherry University, the Vice President of India holds a key constitutional position that can help facilitate the implementation of academic policy decisions, especially those backed by the University’s own internal bodies.

CM Rangasamy appealed to Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar to use his role as Chancellor to expedite the implementation of the quota system, thereby restoring public confidence and addressing long-pending grievances among students and parents in the Union Territory.

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