The Students’ Federation of India (SFI) on Wednesday alleged that Jawaharlal Nehru University’s (JNU) PhD Admission Prospectus 2026–27 falls short of the prescribed reservation quotas for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD). It called on the university to rectify the shortfall in the seats advertised for the current admission cycle.
Speaking at a press conference, JNUSU Vice-President Gopika Babu said that against the total regular intake of 711 PhD seats in the 2026–27 prospectus, the statutory reservation of 7.5% for Scheduled Tribes should translate into approximately 53 seats. However, only 38 seats have been advertised, a shortfall of around 15. Similarly, against the mandated 15% reservation for Scheduled Castes, approximately 107 seats should be reserved, whereas only 103 have been advertised. The discrepancy also extends to Persons with Benchmark Disabilities, for whom only 17 seats have been earmarked against a minimum requirement of approximately 36.
“These figures point to serious deficiencies in the university’s implementation of reservation norms,” Ms. Babu said.
The SFI said that following its complaint dated September 29, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) issued a notice to the JNU Registrar on October 8, directing the administration to submit the relevant facts and details of the action taken. After the administration failed to respond by the stipulated deadline of October 23, the Commission issued an ultimatum on October 27, asking JNU to respond or take action within seven days. The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has also taken cognisance of the matter, the students said.
“These developments expose the JNU administration’s failure to address a matter concerning the constitutional rights of students from historically marginalised communities,” the SFI said.
SFI student leaders attributed the shortfall to a structural method of seat allocation known as “micro-unit” allocation. Instead of applying reservation percentages to the aggregate intake, the university applies them independently within individual Centres or sub-disciplines, many of which offer fewer than seven seats in a given admission cycle, they said.
“When 7.5% is applied to a pool of one, two or three seats, the resultant entitlement is 0.075, 0.15 or 0.225 seats, respectively, which is invariably rounded down to zero,” Ms. Babu said. She added that the division of seats among the NET-JRF, NET and GATE admission channels further compounded the problem.
“The administration is going ahead with the PhD admission process without rectifying the violation of reservation shows their sheer insensitivity towards the issue. We will not let JNU become a place of privileged sections, inaccessible to students from oppressed and marginalised communities,” the SFI said in a statement.
The SFI demanded immediate rectification of the shortfall and said the NCSC and NCST had taken cognisance of its complaint. The JNU administration has been asked for a comment on the issues raised but has not responded yet.
Published – October 29, 2026 04:35 am IST
