30 percent Domicile Reservation introduced in NUJS, Kolkata [Read Amendment Act]

The State of West Bengal has enacted an amendment to bring about a 30 percent domicile reservation system in the National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS), Kolkata..The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (Amendment) Act, 2018, now published in the State’s extraordinary gazette dated May 21, 2019 introduces domicile reservation under Section 4 of the NUJS parent Act of 1999..Following the amendment, the newly inserted Section 4A (3) states,.“The University shall compulsory make provision for reservation of seats for students domiciled in the State of West Bengal to the extent of at least thirty percent of the total intake in the University.”.The Bill was passed in the State Legislative Assembly in November last year, even as the NUJS student body condemned the move as reeking of State governmental interference and threatening the independence and the national character of the University..The new amendment has also given the State more say in matters of fee fixation and student admission..Following the amendment, Section 4A(1) of the NUJS Act, states;.“The tuition fees in the University shall be such as may be determined by the State government from time to time.”.Earlier, the fees were determined by the University. Further, the amendment also lays down a tuition fee waiver for at least 5 percent of the students coming from poor and economically backward sections of the society. To this end, Section 4A (2) of the Act states:.“The University shall allow free-ship in tuition fees to at least 5 per centum of their total strength to students belonging to poor and economically backward classes.”.As for student admission, Section 4B(2) of the amended Act provides that merit for admission to the University may be determined either on the basis of the marks or grade obtained in the qualifying exam or on the basis of marks obtained in the relevant entrance exam conducted by the University at the National or State level..[Read NUJS Amendment Act, 2018].Bar & Bench is available on WhatsApp. For real-time updates on stories, Click here to subscribe to our WhatsApp.