New Delhi, May 29
The government today announced the constitution of a 13-member Oversight Committee headed by former Karnataka Chief Minister M. Veerappa Moily. The committee will make specific recommendations for expanding and providing facilities to enhance opportunities for higher education institutions, including medical institutions.

The committee comprises Secretaries of the Ministries of Health, Human Resource Development, Agriculture and the Department of Expenditure. Other members include B.Mungekar, member, Planning Commission, R. Mashelkar, Director-General of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), S.K. Thorat, University Grants Commission chief, R.A. Yadav, Vice-Chairman of the All-India Council for Technical Education, Indian Council of Medical Research Director-General, N.K. Ganguly, academician G. Mohan Gopal and former Secretary to the Government of India, R.V. Vaidyanatha Ayyar.

Challenging the selection of members of the Oversight Committee, Dr A.B. Dey, President of the AIIMS Faculty Association told TNS that the students know that neutrality and objectivity of some members of the Oversight Committee is debatable as they are enjoying extension after retirement. “Do you think they are going to speak against the government?’’ he asked.

Meanwhile, students and doctors protesting against the proposed reservation for Other Backward Classes in higher education institutions, today said that they will continue their fortnight long agitation till the government acts on their demand of setting up a non-political Judicial Commission.

Far from satisfied with the government’s “feeble and ambiguous’’ response to their demands, the Youth For Equality spearheading the agitation today issued a rejoinder to the document labelled “Government’s assurances to Medical Students.”

Reacting to the document handed over to them by Union Minister Oscar Fernandes, the Youth for Equality today said: “The government is befooling us and the nation by making claims without verification and as such the verbal assurances of the government are hollow and lack in sincerity.’’

The Youth for Equality has further urged the government to examine its demand for constituting an expert commission for a complete review of the reservation policy. It has also suggested that a five-member non-political, non-parliamentary expert commission be chaired by a retired Chief Justice of India or a retired Judge of the Supreme Court.

The anti-quota stir gained momentum. At 7 pm, the agitating students and doctors of Maulana Azad Medical College burnt effigies of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Union Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh amidst shouting of slogans: “Rahul Gandhi, Aage Aao, Rajiv Ka Desh Bacahao.’’

Implementation of 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes in institutes of higher learning, assessment of additional infrastructure and other requirements for increasing the overall availability of seats to a level so that the present level of seats available to the general category students does not decline.

The Committee will get inputs from three groups that will go into specific details about universities and institutes and submit their recommendations by July 31, 2006 on the course of action to be taken to give effect to the reservation in a time-bound manner.

The first Group on Technological and Engineering Institutions, is headed by former Anna University Vice Chancellor M. Anandakrishnan, the second Group, on Management Institutions, by former Indian Institute of Management Director Samuel Paul, and the third Group, on Central Universities, by Jamia Hamdard Chancellor Sayed Hamid.

Their terms of reference are the following:

—To identify in each of the institutions or Universities the courses at undergraduate and post-graduate level and student intake for the academic session 2007-08;

—To identify in each course, the total number of seats for OBCs and consequently to other categories;

— To identify for each course, the increase in the total number of seats so as to maintain the total availability of seats in the unreserved category;

— To determine the requirement of faculty and other infrastructure for the enhanced intake and to determine the additional requirement of recurring and non-recurring expenditure for the same;

— To suggest phasing of expenditure both recurring and non-recurring;

— To suggest measures, in short term, to be taken by each institute for the enhanced intake from the academic session 2007-08;