Dalits Media Watch
News Updates 04.06.12
New guidelines to check discrimination of SC/ST students - Deccan Herald
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/254134/guidelines-check-discrimination-scst-students.html
Rs 3,000 to SC/ST girls for Class IX to XII schooling - The Times Of India
States told to buy 4% goods from SC/ST, Dalit units - The Hindustan Times
Deccan Herald
New guidelines to check discrimination of SC/ST students
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/254134/guidelines-check-discrimination-scst-students.html
New Delhi, June 2, 2012,DHNS
UGC moots equal opportunity cells and anti-discrimination officers
In response to the alleged profiling of North-Eastern and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes students in various higher educational institutions, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has recommended creating equal opportunity cells and appointing anti-discrimination officers in institutions across the country.
The UGC's new guidelines defines ragging, derogatory remarks and calling their names in a derogatory manner and other forms of "unfavourable" treatments to SC/ST students as acts of discrimination.
Demanding fees from SC/ST students in excess of the amount mentioned in their declared admission policy or denial/limiting of access to benefits arising from enrolment in the institution will also be considered discrimination.
The higher educational institution –universities, colleges and deemed universities—must ensure that SC/ST or North-Eastern students are not segregated in common facilities or subjected to discriminatory treatment in academic or sports infrastructure. The regulation also underlines the need to prevent the breach of reservation policy during admission and discrimination of accepting, processing or handling of the SC/ST students.
Following a suggestion from the HRD Ministry, the UGC has also proposed to create an ombudsman position in each higher educational institution to look into the grievances of students including those belonging to SC and ST.
The education watchdog will be established in every central university and higher educational institution including the elite Indian Institutes of Management and Indian Institutes of Technology, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal had said in January referring to a decision.
The ombudsman will either be a judge not below the rank of a district judge or a retired professor who has at least 10 years experience in student grievance redressal.
Setting up of the ombudsman would ensure transparency in admissions and to prevent unfair practices in higher educational institutions, while also serving as a redressal mechanism.
An ombudsman will be the appellate authority in the case of discrimination against SC and ST students. It will also be an appellate authority in the case of grievances of other students, which will first be examined by a grievance redressal committee, to be set up in each higher educational institution under the proposed UGC (Establishment of Mechanism for Grievance Redressal) Regulations, 2012. The committee will comprise three senior teachers and a student representative based on academic merit. Among various grievances, It will look into complaints on delay in holding examinations or declaration of results beyond the time specified in academic calendar and also denial of quality education promised during admission or required to be provided.
The new regulations and guidelines for checking discrimination against SC and ST students will be presented to the State Education Ministers at a meeting here on June 5.
The Times Of India
Rs 3,000 to SC/ST girls for Class IX to XII schooling
TNN | Jun 3, 2012, 04.53AM IST
PANAJI: An amount of 3,000 will be deposited in the name of all scheduled caste (SC) and scheduled tribe (ST) girls, studying in government and government-aided schools, who pass Class VIII and seek admissions to Class IX, the directorate of education (DoE) informed schools in a new circular.
The scheme's beneficiaries will be able to withdraw the deposit amount on completing 18 years of age and on the condition that they clear the Class X exam successfully. The girl student will receive a certificate to identify her as the scheme's beneficiary on seeking admissions to Class IX and will be bound to continue schooling for at least two years after the certificate's issuance. The Union ministry of human resource development has approved the centrally sponsored scheme for the year 2012-13 to be known as 'Incentive to girls for secondary education'.
The girl should be unmarried and below 16 years of age when seeking admissions to Class IX to benefit from the scheme. The scheme's objective is to promote female enrolment in the 14-18 age group at the secondary stage. The scheme aims to retain girl students till Class XII. There will be no income criteria for grant of the incentive, because SC/ST girls studying in government and government-aided schools are considered to be from the weaker sections of the society as per the central government scheme.
In the year 2004-05, the dropout rate for girls from Classes I to VIII was 50.8% nationally. Only 36% of the country's female enrolment could be retained up to Class X. It was found to be a combined result of several socio-economic factors.
An estimated 13.57 lakh girls across the country are set to be covered under the new scheme.
The onus will be on the heads of schools to ensure that no girl student eligible for the scheme is left out so the objective is fulfilled to reduce dropouts among girls from the weaker sections in secondary and senior secondary classes and to promote retention and enrolment at this level.
All beneficiaries will have to open an account in a nationalized back for the scheme amount and all heads of schools will have to send names of beneficiaries and the account numbers to the DoE before June 25. Every implementing school will have to examine if the girls fit the eligibility criteria.
The Hindustan Times
States told to buy 4% goods from SC/ST, Dalit units
Gaurav Choudhury and Nagendar Sharma, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, May 30, 2012
Last Updated: 02:13 IST(31/5/2012)
The Centre has asked state governments to compulsorily make at least 4% of their purchases from units run by Dalit as well as scheduled caste and scheduled tribe entrepreneurs.
In a letter to all chief ministers last week, Virbhadra Singh, the minister of micro, small and medium enterprises, said that state governments should notify a policy making it mandatory for departments and state-owned firms to source 20% of their purchases from small enterprises. A fifth of that would have to be bought from Dalit and SC/ST-owned firms.
This is in line with a public procurement policy for micro and small enterprises that the Centre had recently notified, setting the quota for purchase of goods from small firms.
The 20% quota for medium and small enterprises for these purchases had become applicable from April 1, 2012, in a three-year staggered manner. It will become mandatory from April 1, 2015.
"I request you to kindly issue instructions to your industries department to interact with all central ministries, departments and public sector undertakings and facilitate the policy implementation," Singh said in his May 23 letter. "I also request you to consider formulating a similar public procurement policy from medium and small enterprises in your state."
The central government spends about a third of its annual budget on procuring products ranging from agricultural implements and cars to stationery items and clothes.
This year, the government is set to spend about Rs. 4 lakh crore on public procurement. Conservative estimates suggest that the reservation policy will provide a ready market of about Rs. 30,000 crore for goods supplied by firms run by Dalits and SC/ST persons. "The policy will be made mandatory from 2015-16. Non-conforming departments will have to provide reasons to the review committee set up under the policy," an official said.
--
.Arun Khote
On behalf of
Dalits Media Watch Team
(An initiative of "Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC")
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Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre- PMARC has been initiated with the support from group of senior journalists, social activists, academics and intellectuals from Dalit and civil society to advocate and facilitate Dalits issues in the mainstream media. To create proper & adequate space with the Dalit perspective in the mainstream media national/ International on Dalit issues is primary objective of the PMARC.
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