Amid a backlash against draft guidelines released by the University Grants Commission on filling vacancies in higher education institutions, the Ministry of Education on Sunday said that no reserved post can be de-reserved.

The ministry said that the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Act provides for reservation in such institutions for all posts in direct recruitment in the teachers’ cadre. It said that it has told all central educational institutions to fill vacancies strictly in accordance with the Act.

University Grants Commission chairperson M Jagadeesh Kumar also said: “This is to clarify that there has been no de-reservation of reserved category positions in Central Educational Institutions [CEI] in the past and there is going to be no such de-reservation. It is important for all [higher education institutions] to ensure that all backlog positions in reserved category are filled up through concerted efforts.”

Draft guidelines of the University Grants Commission on implementing reservations in higher education institutions state that a vacancy reserved for a candidate for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes or Other Backward Classes cannot be filled by a candidate who does not belong to these communities.

“However, a reserved vacancy may be declared unreserved by following the procedure of de-reservation where after, it can be filled as an unreserved vacancy,” the guidelines stated, according to PTI.

The document states that in “rare and exceptional cases” when a vacancy in Group A position cannot be allowed to remain vacant on account of public interest, a university may put forward a proposal to de-reserve the vacancy.

The proposal will need to mention the efforts made to fill up the post, the reasons why the position cannot remain vacant and the justification for de-reservation, The New Indian Express reported.

“The proposal for de-reservation in case of Group C or D should go to the Executive Council of the University and in case of Group A or B should be submitted to the Ministry of Education, giving full details, for necessary approval,” the guidelines said. “After receiving the approval, the post may be filled and reservation may be carried forward.”

On the draft, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that there was a conspiracy to end reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes in higher education institutions. He noted that some years ago, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat had said that there was a need to examine the reservation policy.

In 2015, Bhagwat had said that a panel of non-partisan observers should review the reservation policy. However, in September, he said that reservations should continue as long as discrimination exists in society.