UG admission: Principle of elasticity in reservation comes in handy for Arunthathiyars in Tamil Nadu government arts colleges

Elasticity in reservation benefits Arunthathiyars in college admissions, with more students accommodated under open competition category.

The principle of elasticity in reservation has come in handy for Arunthathiyars in admission to undergraduate courses in government arts colleges.

This is evident in a response of the Government Arts and Science College, Sathyamangalam, in Erode district, to a Right to Information (RTI) Act query by The Hindu on the efficacy of the Tamil Nadu Arunthathiyars Special Reservation Act. The law, formulated by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government (2006-11) led by M. Karunanidhi, provides for 3% reservation within the overall quota of 18% for Scheduled Castes.

Established during 2016-2017, the college, which is affiliated to Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, has stated that in the inaugural year, the number of Scheduled Castes-Arunthathiyars SC(A) admitted was five under the special reservation. But, the number of SC(A) candidates admitted in the year both under the reservation and the category of open competition (OC) was 47, meaning that 42 more students were accommodated. In the last two years, there was a substantial rise in their number.

In 2023-24 and 2024-25, of the 119 and 88 SC(A) students admitted respectively, only 18 in each of the two years came under the special quota. A total of 101 and 70 students were accommodated within the OC category in the last two years. Other communities being covered under the scheme of reservation also get accommodated under OC category, if found eligible.

Pointing out that the trend, as found in the Sathyamangalam college, is not unique to any one place in the State, an official in the Higher Education Department said any perusal of the data of admission of SC(A) candidates in the last four or five years shows that the number of students of the community gaining admission under OC category has been on the rise.

One of the features of the 2009 law is that it allows available SC(A) candidates to compete even for non-preferential seats within the overall SC quota, after the seats under the 3% quota are filled.