TNN

GUWAHATI: The All Assam Scheduled Caste Students’ Union (AASCSU) on Sunday said some of the toppers from the schedule caste (SC) community were put in the reserved category instead of the merit category by college authorities.

The students’ body said the college authorities during the admission process placed the SC merit students on the quota list instead of the merit list, which according to the body deprives other students from the community.

At a meeting held in Cotton College, the students’ body put forward issues affecting the community as a whole. According to them, the state government hasn’t been able to address their problems in a pragmatic manner. The body discussed various problems faced by SC students at their respective schools and colleges such as discrepancies in cut-off marks, pre and posts matric scholarships, admission in medical and engineering colleges. The also spoke about formation of a strong city committee.

“College authorities are putting the toppers from our community in the quota category deliberately instead of the merit list. This proves detrimental for other students from the community as there are limited seats within the quota. The government says it will be beneficial for us, but we think it isn’t the case,” said Praveen Baishya, AASCSU president.

He added that at a meeting with authorities concerned regarding the placement of SC toppers in the quota list, a circular was issued to the colleges and technical institutions to follow the decorum.

“We are focusing on a strong city committee to meet the interests of SC students. The Constitution has rights preserved for us. The state government is not serious about the Atrocities Act and one minister even said there have been no instances of atrocities on the SC communities. Funds meant for SC areas don’t reach the people and are even diverted,” said Baishya.