Union Govt rejects proposal for 25% seat reservation for Kannadigas in IIT Dharwad

Team Udayavani, Jan 8, 2017, 12:25 PM IST

Dharwad: The Union Government has rejected the request by the state government to provide 25% seat reservation at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Dharwad for Kannadigas residing in Karnataka state and therefore a quarrel with the union government is very likely, said Karnataka State Higher Education Minister Basavaraya Reddy speaking to the reporters here at DC office in the city on Saturday. The state government has provided more than 500 acres of land for the IIT along with basic facilities like water, electricity and others. For the present academic year only 7 students from Karnataka have been selected for IIT out of 120 students selected, the minister said. Therefore, IIT established in the city won’t support the students from Karnataka, he added.

Earlier, the state government had requested the centre to reserve 25% of total seats in IIT Dharwad. However, Union Minister for Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar said in a letter to the Karnataka state higher education department that it is not possible for a centre run institute provide reservation to the states.

“The state government is ready to quarrel with union government in the issue. I had proposed same idea to the union government at a meeting of higher education ministers of all states in New Delhi recently to reserve 25% seats to students from the states where IIT is located. Almost all of the higher education ministers from the state had supported the proposal,” the Basavaraya Reddy said.