KSU proposes 50% job reservation for Khasi-Jaintia, 40% for Garo

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaOctober 3, 2024

The Khasi Students Union (KSU) has emphasized that the new state reservation policy should consider 50 percent job reservation for the Khasi-Jaintia, 40 percent for Garos, 5 percent for other Scheduled Tribes and 5 percent for unreserved category.

This submission was made before the members of the Expert Committee on the State Reservation Policy during a 3-day public hearing, which went underway in Shillong here on Thursday.

“(During our interaction with the Expert Committee, we have suggested that) if it (reservation is) going to be based on population, then we are of the opinion that the ratio of reservation between the Khasis and the Garos should be 50% for Khasi-Jaintia and 40% for Garos, 5% for other STs and 5% Unreserved. Mark my word it is not general but unreserved category that means open for all,” KSU general secretary Donald V Thabah said after the meeting.

“Another option is that if this (proposal) is not possible then it (reservation) should be 90% open for Khasi, Jaintia and Garo and 5% for other tribes and 5% unreserved. These were the first two suggestions we have put forth before the panel,” he added.

Thabah also informed that the Union has suggested that “if the new reservation policy is going to come out then it should not be retrospective, there should not be any backlog, it should be fresh, it should start afresh”.

Further, the KSU leader said that the union has also proposed a hundred per cent reservation for teachers of lower primary and primary schools.

“The last suggestion is that we believe that with regards to the education, reservation policy is als linked and it is very important when we impart education to the children in lower primary and primary, we have to converse and interact with the students in our mother tongue. So we are suggesting that in the Garo Hills region, 100% reservation for teachers should go to the Garos and similarly in the Eastern range of Meghalaya, 100% reservation should be for the Khasis-Jaintias  because we feel a Garo will not be able if we go by reservation of 40:40 or 50:40, a Garo will not be able to teach a young Khasi kid in Khasis neither can a Khasi go to Garo Hills and impart education to GAro school children. For better quality of education we are suggesting this 100% reservation for teachers in lower primary and primary including SSA schools,” he stated.