The Students Federation of India (SFI) on Wednesday, October 28, alleged that Jawaharlal Nehru University did not adhere to the reservation norms outlined for marginalised communities for admission to PhD in the 2026-27 academic session and highlighted discrepancies in the allocation of seats for candidates belonging to the SC and ST communities. According to a PTI report, the student outfit sought immediate correction, claiming that the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) had taken note of its complaint. Speaking at a press conference held at the Press Club of India, several leaders, including former Rajya Sabha MP Brinda Karat, former West Bengal minister Debalina Hembram and JNUSU vice-president Gopika Babu, claimed that JNU’s admission prospectus did not specify the share of seats for Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and persons with benchmark disabilities (PwBD) candidates. SFI said that on October 8, the NCSC issued a notice to the university, asking for details and the action taken in response to its September 29 complaint. The university, however, did not respond by the deadline of October 23, prompting the Commission to issue an “ultimatum” on October 27, requiring a response within seven days. According to the student outfit, the NCST has also considered the issue. According to the student federation, JNU notified 711 regular seats across three admission channels -- UGC-NET, UGC-NET-JRF and GATE -- for the 2026-27 academic session. Under the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admissions) Act, 7.5 per cent of seats should be reserved for ST candidates, which translates to approximately 53 seats. However, the prospectus listed only 38 seats, a shortfall of around 15 seats. Likewise, a total of 103 seats were notified for SC candidates against around 107 required under the 15 per cent reservation requirement. For persons with benchmark disabilities, the brochure advertised merely 17 seats instead of 36, SFI alleged. The student organisation alleged that the discrepancy was caused by a “micro-unit” seat allocation method, wherein the reservation percentages apply separately to individual university centres and sub-disciplines, many of which have small seat intakes. SFI claimed that dividing seats across NET, NET-JRF and GATE admission channels further resulted in 29 centres advertising “zero seats” for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories. Not only this, but concerns have also been raised over the purported “de-reservation of vacant reserved seats” in previous admission cycles. SFI said it had filed a Right to Information application on September 23, asking for details of PhD admissions for the 2025-26 academic session, but the university administration termed the data sought as “voluminous”. The organisation has called for a rectification of the alleged “reservation shortfalls” in the ongoing admission process. It has sought the announcement of a special drive to fill backlog seats if the university goes ahead with viva voce examinations, adding that the admission process should otherwise be put on hold until the corrected seats are notified. Deepali Samaniya has been covering education for the past 2 years with a passion for SEO and a knack for crafting engaging stories. She specialises in... View More