Government introduces teachers’ reservation Bill in Rajya Sabha

The government on Tuesday introduced the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Bill, 2019 in the Rajya Sabha, despite protests by opposition parties.

The Bill will replace the ordinance passed before the Lok Sabha polls, which provides for reservation of teaching positions in Central educational institutions for persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and economically weaker sections of society.

Opposition parties protested that the Bill was tabled after a supplementary list of business was distributed in the afternoon, and thus members did not get adequate time to put in amendments. As per Rajya Sabha rules, amendments have to be submitted a day in advance. Their protests did not have any effect as Deputy Chairman Harivansh maintained that the Chairman has the authority to allow a Bill. In protest, Left MPs K K Ragesh, Binoy Viswam and Elamaram Kareem staged a walkout.

Opening the discussion on the Bill, Congress member P L Punia raised several concerns about the implementation of the reservation roster and also asked the government what the urgency was to bring an ordinance just before the Lok Sabha elections.

Earlier, the House passed the Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2019, that replaced the related ordinance for the constitution of a seven-member board of governors to replace the Homoeopathy Council that both the government and the treasury benches said had been highly corrupt.

AYUSH Minister Shripad Yesso Naik, while replying to the debate, assured the House that the council will be formed within the year, and said that it could not be constituted earlier because of a delay in compiling the state registers of homoeopathy practitioners.

The current board of governors, Naik told the House, had “successfully dealt with the matters relating to Homeopathy College permissions for the Academic year 2018-19 in a time bound manner and also made provisions in the regulations relating to implementation of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for undergraduate and All India Postgraduate Entrance Test for postgraduate admissions. Further, they are in the process of completing the matter of permissions of colleges for the Academic Year 2019-20.”

Members highlighted the need for effective regulation, but also criticised the propensity of the government to pass ordinances. RJD’s Manoj Jha described the government as an “ordinance factory”.

Moving a statutory resolution in opposition to the Bill, CPI member Binoy Viswam said, “The Bill says that the government has the power to do anything. They can choose the people; they can sack the people, and they can extend everything, like a Brahma…”

TMC member Santanu Sen mentioned the large numbers of vacancies in government positions in homeopathy institutes.