III. ADMISSION OF STUDENTS FORM OUTSIDE THE STATE TO ENGINEERING COLLEGES AND POLYTECHNICS, AND ADMISSION TO MEDICAL COLLEGES ON INTER-STATE BASIS
The All India Council for Technical Education at a meeting held in April, 1960, observed that in some of the State institutions restrictions by way of nativity, place of residence, etc. have been laid down for students seeking admission from outside the State. The Council was of the view that institutions should be open to students from all over the country and it should be the endeavour of the institutions to admit some students from outside the State. Accordingly the State Governments were asked to reserve at least 25 per cent seats in technical institutions to students belonging to other States, subject to the condition that the latter fulfil the minimum requirements for admission.
The reaction of the various State Governments to this recommendation of the Council was not very favourable. The Council at its meeting held in July, 1961, therefore, clarified that the main intention of its earlier recommendation was not so much to prescribe a definite percentage of seats in each institution for students from outside that State as to remove the existing barriers for admission of these students. The Council therefore urged the State Governments to reconsider their decision.
Reviewing the position later in December, 1963, the Council recommended the following three measures to the State Governments :
(a) Admission to technical institutions should not be restricted on the basis of domicile or nativity and similar factors
(b) Admission to technical institutions should be made on the basis of merit ; and
(c) As many ex-State students as possible should be admitted on merit, reaching up to 25 per cent in course of time. For this purpose, ex-State students should be those who passed the qualifying examination from a university or State Board outside the State in which the college is situated.
Meanwhile, the question of removal of inter-State restrictions on admission of students to educational and professional institutions in the country has also been examined by a study team appointed by the Union Home Minister on the recommendations of the Committee of the Zonal Councils for National Integration. the Report of the study team approved by the Committee of Zonal Councils for National integration, generally agreed with the recommendations of the All India Council for Technical Education in this behalf.
The Council again reviewed the position in February, 1955, when it, noted that the response from the State Governments to the suggestions of the Council was not satisfactory. The Chairman of the Council then appealed to all the State Governments to implement the recommendations in full. The Council also recommended that the State Governments should institute scholarships for attracting bright students to go and join institutions outside their regions.
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After more than five years of protected correspondence and the renewed recommendations and appeals from the All India Council for Technical Education to the various State Governments, the position that obtains today is not very encouraging. Although most of the State Governments agreed, in principle, with the recommendations of the Council, most of them were not very enthusiastic about its implementation. Domicile or nativity conditions are not insisted upon in West Bengal, Punjab and Rajasthan. A large number of States would, however, admit students from other States only on a reciprocal basis. Kerala, Madras, Mysore and Gujarat are in this category. In certain States like Maharashtra, Bihar, Orissa, Assam and Uttar Pradesh they admit a few students from outside their States, but their percentage is far below 25 recommended by the Council. Andhra Pradesh agreed with the recommendation of the Council to reserve a few seats for students from outside the State, but in Madhya Pradesh a condition to the effect that the student should have qualified from that State or should have at least studied for two years in Madhya Pradesh before passing the qualifying examination is insisted upon. In Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir there is only one Regional Engineering College each where the problem does not exist.
A summary of replies received from the various State Governments is given below
Andhra Pradesh No domicile or nativity restrictions are insisted upon for admission of ex-State students for which seats are also reserved in the engineering colleges. The State Government is in general agreement with the recommendations of the All India Council for Technical-education regarding admission of ex-State students reaching upto 25 per cent of the seats to technical institutions in Andhra Pradesh and proposes to implement them while framing rules of admission to engineering colleges for the year 1965-66.
Gujarat The State Government agrees in principle to the reservation of a few seats not exceeding five seats in each College provided reciprocal arrangements in other States are secured.
Kerala The State Government is prepared to accept the recommendations of, the All India Council provided other States also agree to it. For the present the State Government has however reserved five seats each for the other three States of the Southern Region in its engineering colleges on a reciprocal basis.
Maharashtra The State Government has already reserved 63 seats in degree courses and 44 seats in diploma courses in engineering and technology for ex-State students in technical institutions in Maharashtra State. In addition, requests received from other States for reservation of seats at technical institutions in the State are considered on merit. As such, the State Government feels that adequate facilities for admission of ex-State students have been provided for and that no further reservation is necessary,
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Mysore The State Government has already reserved 11 seats in its engineering colleges, on reciprocal basis, for students belonging to the other three States in the Southern Region in accordance with the resolution of the Southern Regional Committee. Besides, the State Government has also reserved some seats in engineering colleges for students having equivalent qualifications from other universities as also for students of Goa and children of Defence Personnel and ex- Service men. Students from other States are also admitted to private engineering colleges in the State where selection is made by the management of the College. The, State Government therefore feels that adequate facilities have been provided for admission of ex-State students to engineering colleges in the State.
Punjab There are no domicile restrictions for purposes of admission in the open category to Government technical institutions in State.
Orissa The Colleges at Rourkela and Burla have already reserved 50 per cent and 7 per cent seats respectively for students belonging to other States. At diploma level, four seats in Mining, Engineering only have been reserved for ex-State students. As very limited facilities for technical education exist in the State, the State Government does not consider it necessary to make any change in the existing practice and procedure for admission.
Madhya Pradesh Admissions to technical institutions in Madhya Pradesh are not restricted on the basis of domicile or nativity but on the basis that the students who have studied in Madhya Pradesh are given preference over students who have not studied in educational institutions of the State. The minimum period of study in Madhya Pradesh as stipulated is two years prior to passing the qualifying examination or three years at any stage. The State Government has experienced over the past few years that only such outside candidates as do not fulfil the minimum conditions of eligibility in their States are desirous of seeking admission to colleges in the State. The State Government, therefore, desires that no candidate from other States should be allowed to apply unless he fulfils more or less the same qualifications as are accepted from candidates of the State.
West Bengal No candidate of Indian nationality is denied admissions into the engineering colleges and polytechnics of the State of West Bengal on grounds of his place of birth or residence.
Bihar In the matter of admission to technical and professional Institutions, the State Government has been pleased to decide that 15 per cent of the seats will be thrown open to students of other States in engineering colleges only with effect from the academic session 1966-67. There shall be no outside quota for students from outside the State in engineering schools and polytechnics.
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Madras The State Board of Technical Education, Madras, has decided that with effect from 1966-67, 10 per cent of the seats for Bachelors degree in all the engineering colleges coming under the scheme of Common Selection should be reserved for ex-State students on a reciprocal basis.
Uttar Pradesh In so far as technical institutions under the Directorate of Technical Education are concerned, there are no domicile restrictions for admission, which are made on the basis of merit. No reservations are, however, made for ex-State students.
As regards the admissions to engineering colleges in U. P. the matter is still under consideration of the State Government.
II. Admissions to Medical Colleges on an Inter-State basis The National Integration Council in its meeting held on the 2nd and 3rd June, 1962, passed the following Resolution:
"The Council considered a suggestion by Shri K. M. Munshi that the question of encroachments, legislative or administrative on the common citizenship rights as regards residence, service, education, trade, business and property throughout the country be examined. The discussion centred in the main on the question of admission to universities and educational institutions in different States. The Council noted that universities can and should exert a powerful unifying influence in the country. It therefore, strongly recommended that admissions to the universities should not be denied on considerations of place of birth, residence, caste or creed (except in so far as any reservations have been provided under the Constitution) ".
Consequent on the recommendations of the National Integration Council the Government of Punjab decided in March, 1963 that in future all bonafide nationals of Indian Union should be admitted to all State Medical Colleges on the basis of merit against seats other than the seats reserved for Scheduled Castes/Tribes and backward classes, backward areas, etc.
The Ministry of Home Affairs intimated in July, 1963 that it had already addressed the State Governments requesting them to examine the recommendations of the National Integration Council and to send a report on the action taken or proposed to be taken and that replies from most of the State Governments had been received. The Ministry of Home Affairs further informed that the Committee of the Zonal Councils of the National Integration had set up a `Study Group' to examine the question of domicile restrictions for admission to educational, technical and professional institutions (including medical colleges) on an all India basis.
The tentative conclusion and recommendation of the Study team was that domicile or other restrictions on admissions of students from outside the State/Region District to all educational and training courses should be abolished, in all States and Union Territories subject to the provision that in regard to the admission to degree courses in Medicine in the initial stage, say for
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a period of five years or so the number of seats to be made available for outside candidates should be limited to 15 per cent only. Here also it will be open to any State Government university if it so likes, to increase the percentage of seats.
The Fourth Southern Regional Health Ministers Conference in its meeting held in 1964 passed the following Resolution:
"Resolved that to promote national integration 10% of seats in the medical colleges be reserved as Central quota for candidates from other States, the selection of candidates to these being done by the Government of India on all India basis. Each State should find the feasibility of institution -of few merit scholarships for medical students".
A similar resolution was also passed by the Central Council of Health in 1964. Accordingly the Director General, Health Services prepared a scheme for admission of students against 10 per cent seats reserved in medical colleges in India for students from outside the State. The scheme was circulated to all the State Governments. The State Governments expressed different views on the scheme prepared by this Ministry. The matter was also discussed in two meetings held in this Ministry with the representatives of Ministry of Finance, Home Affairs, Education and Planning Commission and certain State Governments. The views expressed by the State Governments were di- vided on the basic proposition. The scheme has not therefore yet been finalised.
At present domiciliary restrictions have been imposed by almost all the States on the admission of students to their medical colleges. This not only impairs free mobility of students but also sometimes causes great hardship to talented students in finding admission to the medical courses.
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