The All India Students’ Association (AISA) has brought attention to alleged discrepancies in the reservation policy for PhD admissions at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). In a letter dated October 31 to the Union Education Ministry, AISA claimed that there were 86 seats designated for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates that were not allocated across six admission cycles. The organisation has requested a thorough and independent investigation into the matter.

AISA’s analysis reportedly covered 4,288 advertised PhD seats from Monsoon 2022 to Monsoon 2026, revealing a shortfall of 42 seats for SC candidates and 44 for ST candidates. The organisation asserted that the expected allocation for ST candidates was around 322 seats, yet only 278 were actually allocated. Similarly, for SC candidates, the expected number was 643, while only 601 were provided.

In the upcoming 2026-27 admission cycle, AISA noted that of the 711 advertised PhD seats, only 38 were allocated for ST candidates, falling short of the approximately 53 expected. For SC candidates, 103 seats were advertised against an anticipated 107. The organisation also highlighted concerns regarding the Persons with Disabilities (PwD) category, where only 17 seats were advertised compared to an expected 36.

Detailed Reservation Figures Highlighted

AISA has presented specific figures in its letter to the Education Ministry, detailing the alleged shortfalls in reservation allocations. The organisation indicated that across the six admission cycles, there were a total of 965 seats expected for SC and ST candidates combined, but only 879 were allocated, resulting in a shortfall of 86 seats.

The figures for the 2026-27 cycle alone showed that 56 out of 84 programmes had no seats available for ST candidates. The organisation also raised questions regarding the management of unfilled reserved vacancies. For instance, it cited an instance in the Centre for Spanish and Italian Studies where an ST seat that was advertised in the 2025 Phase-II admission cycle was not carried forward into the 2026-27 cycle, despite the absence of candidates for that seat.

In addition, AISA’s letter outlined the decline in enrolment for Other Backward Classes (OBC) students, noting a drop from 2,975 in the 2023-24 academic year to 2,766 in 2024-25. This decline represents a decrease in their share of the total student population from 37.20 per cent to 34.61 per cent, despite overall enrolment remaining relatively stable.

Call for Transparency and Audit

AISA has urged the Education Ministry to conduct an audit of SC and ST seat allocations at JNU. The organisation has requested that the complete PhD reservation roster be made public, along with detailed category-wise data regarding applications, interviews, selections, and vacant seats.

Furthermore, AISA seeks clarification on the application of the Not Found Suitable (NFS) provision and the implementation of recommendations from various committees, including those led by Rajiv Bhatt, Thorat, and Nafey. The letter was signed by AISA General Secretary Prasenjeet Kumar and President Neha. As of now, the allegations and figures presented by AISA have not been independently verified, and no response from JNU or the Education Ministry has been reported in connection with the letter.

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