TURA, April 10: The influential Garo Students’ Union on Monday deprecated the recent call for a review of the job roster system, and pleaded for persevering with the time-tested reservation policy.
In its first reaction to the matter brought by VPP and pressure groups of Shillong, the Union observed that “it should not be a politics of shenanigans to intrude upon the Meghalaya Job Reservation Policy, 1972”.
“The GSU wishes to express that any intrusion upon the job reservation policy will be taken very seriously by the people of Garo Hills. The matter, we believe, as of now is about the implementation of the roster system adopted by the Meghalaya government as per court orders in April 2022. The discussion on the roster system regarding the “retrospective” and “prospective” nature of the implementation of the roster system is fair to be discussed but it must not be an implicated platform to denature the wisdom of the founding fathers of Meghalaya by any attempt to dilute the Meghalaya Reservation Policy, 1972.”
“GSU appreciates the implementation of the roster system,” its president Tengsak G Momin said.
Momin pointed out that it is not only an accepted fact but a gross reality that the Garos and other indigenous tribes and peoples of Garo Hills lack quality education due to lack of quality educational institutions since even the Engineering College and the Medical College are yet to function and remains in limbo in the construction phases as are other model schools and college.
This has a profound impact on the ability of the candidates of the region to successfully compete with the other brethren of the state and hence Meghalaya Reservation Policy, 1972 is a necessity that must be sanguinely preserved for the equal benefits of the educationally disadvantaged communities of the state, he added.
Lauding the Meghalaya government for its realization that the Garos and other tribes have indeed been disadvantaged by the recruitment system, the GSU welcomed the High Court’s view that a roster system is necessary to adhere to the letter and spirit of the Meghalaya Job Reservation Policy, 1972.
“We have however noted the clause No. 1.2 in the reservation policy, 1972 that “the deficiency will be carried forward to the next recruitment year and made good in the recruitment of that year provided that the reservation on account of the deficiency shall not be carried forward for more than one year. After the expiry of the second year, these reservations shall be treated as lapsed…But it is because of the absence of the roster system that these clauses have been trampled upon year after year,” Momin said.
He pointed out that in 2007 the discrepancy arising out of the absence of the roster system was the backlog of more than 500 jobs which would have multiplied by now. However, he said that there is a justification for the need for the roster system as so many people have been deprived of the job benefit.
Momin also did not agree with the idea made by VPP that the job reservation policy must be based on population demographics and vehemently opposed the notion as other factors like lack of quality educational institutions are enough to be understood by all as a disadvantage.
“Let us be on par in every aspect as brethren or let us either discuss the possibility of a Winter Capital or a separate state if only one of our existing rights to equal sharing of opportunities is hindered. We stand no chance without the job reservation policy for equal representation,” Momin asserted.
