“Insofar as economic criteria or social backwardness are concerned, there are similarities between students of government schools and those in private aided schools,” the judge said.
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has said the Tamil Nadu government can ‘revisit’ the 7.5% reservation for government school students in medical admissions to explore the possibility of extending the quota to aided school students too as both categories of students share similar economic and social factors.
“…it is open to the State government to revisit this issue of extending the benefit of 7.5% reservation to students of private aided schools,” Justice R Suresh Kumar said in an order passed on Thursday while dismissing a petition filed by a student seeking orders to extend the quota to aided schools.
The judge said the dismissal order or a division bench’s order dated April 7, 2022, on the validity of the special reservation to government school students would not come in the way of the government reconsidering extension of the benefits to aided schools.
“Insofar as economic criteria or social backwardness are concerned, there are similarities between students of government schools and those in private aided schools,” the judge said. The same criteria, as that of government schools, can be invoked in case of aided schools too as several crores of rupees are spent from the State’s Exchequer as aid to these institutions, the judge said.
‘Court’s observation can only be taken as an aid to re-visit issue’
“Only based on the aid, these schools are being run imparting education to majority of students belonging to non-affluent socioeconomic background. Therefore, the benefit of 7.5% reservation can be extended to these students,” the judge said. The judge, however, made it clear, “It is purely a policy decision of the State government.
The court’s observation can only be taken as a further aid to re-visit the issue.” The court’s observations came on a petition filed by S Varsha seeking orders to the government to extend the reservation to aided schools too because she, after completing education in an aided school, could not get admission to MBBS despite clearing NEET twice. The judge said the relief cannot be granted since the first bench of the court in its order dated April 7, 2022, had dismissed pleas seeking similar relief.
‘Only an aid to revisit quota issue’
“It is purely a policy decision of the State. The court’s observation can only be taken as a further aid to re-visit the issue,” the HC judge said
