by Moiz Mannan
The vexed issue of admission quotas for non-resident Indians (NRIs) has raised its head once again with a southern state court in India asking the government to frame proper rules to prevent any misuse of the special facility.
Each year thousands of young boys and girls, mostly those whose Indian parents live and work in the Gulf, face the problem of getting themselves admitted to higher and professional education courses of their choice. While the seats are limited in government-run colleges, those run by private entities and societies are only too happy to offer admissions to overseas Indians in the hope of big bucks.
This fact has not been lost either on the different state governments who regulate the colleges, but also on the courts of law which have often seen the undesirable practices challenged.
The fact remains, though, that middle and low level income NRIs working in the Gulf countries to eke out a living are unfortunately clubbed in the same class as the wealthy NRIs in the West.
Another angle to the complications are the admissions that are made under the category of ‘dependents of NRIs.’ In this case, NRIs were allowed to sponsor the admissions of ‘poor and deserving’ relatives (dependents) back home. Here again there have been many allegations of misuse of the quota by private (self-financed) professional colleges.
It is against this back ground that a recent directive by the Kerala High Court assumes significance. Considering a petition challenging the anomalies in selecting NRI candidates in self-financing colleges , the court directed the state to “evolve an appropriate formula regarding the admissions to the NRI quota in the self-financed colleges in the state before the next academic year.”
The court has further asked the Kerala government to clarify what is meant by ‘dependents’ of NRIs under Section 2(o) of the professional colleges Act. Holding that the State had the power to admit students to the NRI quota, the court directed the government to ensure that the entire process relating to the sponsorship by an NRI be completed with supporting documents before the cut-off date for admission.
In September 2012, delivering an important order concerning NRI quota in professional courses, the Gujarat High Court had ruled that the student seeking admission under the quota will have to establish that his parents cannot afford his education and also prove how he is dependent on NRI quota. In that instance, the court itself had redefined the term ‘dependent of NRI’, and made it clear that it would not be enough if a student produces willingness of the sponsor to pay fee for the course. The student would have to show how he has been dependent on the NRI for education throughout his or her career.
The court also directed the government to consider students for NRI quota as per the clarification made in this order. It would be necessary for the candidate to show in what manner he is dependent on the NRI. He would have to establish that in the past also he depended on the NRI sponsor for education and other related requirements, and his parents do not have economic means to provide for his fees and other expenditure, the wGujarat High Court division bench had observed.
The high court was deciding an application by a female student, who was denied admission in NRI quota in a medical college on technical grounds. The court observed that she had never taken help of her NRI sponsor in the past, nor did she claim that her parents cannot afford her education expenses. Thus, she did not qualify for getting advantage of the NRI quota, ruled the court and observed that if such rich students are given admission only because some NRI sponsor agrees to pay their fees, this would directly affect the merit.
The court also held that the NRI quota seats, which remain vacant for non-availability of students, have to be filled up on merit basis. The Kerala court, in its directive, has observed that the NRI quota was permitted by the Supreme Court on the basis of understanding the peculiar position of the NRIs and also the need for funds from the NRIs to augment the income of the self-financing institutions.
Earlier, in June this year, the Odisha high court put a stay on 15 per cent reservation in NRI quota in engineering seats. Recently, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) had reduced the NRI quota from 15 percent to five per cent. The Odisha Private Engineering College Association (OPECA) had challenged the decision in the high court.
In March, the Supreme Court of India delivered a ruling that unfilled seats meant for NRI candidates are free to be occupied by general category students.
The Peninsula
