A delegation of students also submitted a memorandum to the administration demanding the admission process to be conducted according to new reservation norms for Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
Scores of specially-abled students came up in arms demanding a quota for them in college hostels across the Delhi University (DU) on Monday. A delegation of students also submitted a memorandum to the administration demanding the admission process to be conducted according to new reservation norms for Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
According to the protesting students, many hostels of the varsity and its constituent colleges are following the old reservation norms which called for reservation of only three per cent of the total number of seats for disabled students in educational institutions. However, as per Rights of Persons with Disability Act, 2016, it has become mandatory to reserve five per cent seats for disabled students.
"The denial of seats to the disabled students is not simply illegal, but in effect violates their constitutional rights... This new policy despite being followed by DU in admissions this year has been overlooked by many university and college hostels, thereby denying the students from the disabled community the rightful number of seats reserved for them," the students said in a statement.
The students alleged not only colleges having hostels are violating the norms, but also hostels directly run by DU such as Jubilee Hall, Rajiv Gandhi Hostel for Girls are also providing only three per cent seats to disabled students. "The hostel prospectuses do not even mention the number of percentage of seats reserved for disabled students, thereby leaving enough scope for arbitrary practices," the statement read.
The protestors, led by a students' body Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS), demanded that the admission process to DU hostels be centralised. "A centralised process will make it easier for disabled students to apply and also reduce the scope for arbitrary practices with regard to admissions to hostels," said Harish Gautam of KYS.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Specially-abled")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}