Admission to Haryana technical colleges: Parivar Pehchan Patra a ‘roadblock’ for Kashmiri migrants seeking quota
When the Kashmiri migrant students apply using their PPP, or the Aadhaar which is also linked to the PPP, the site doesn’t show them to option of applying under the seats reserved for the displaced community.
It’s been six weeks since the Haryana state board of technical education (HSBTE) began online registration for undergraduate engineering courses but Kashmiri Migrant (KM) students based in the state have been unable to submit their applications due to a technical glitch linked to Parivar Pehchan Patra (PPP).
The PPP is an eight-digit family identity card that the Manohar Lal Khattar-led government has made mandatory for all those living in Haryana, including KM children studying in the state schools.
At least 5% seats of the sanctioned intake in each course (BE/B Tech) are reserved for the KM students and filled on the basis of All India Rank of JEE Mains 2023. The anomaly in the HSBTE portal is such that when Haryana-based KM students fill details of their PPP, they don’t get the drop-down option of applying under the KM sub-category and they are only given the option of applying as general category candidates from Haryana.
They face the same problem even if they apply using the Aadhaar card because it is linked with the PPP which the Haryana government has made compulsory for students of both government as well as private schools.
On the other hand, KM students residing in other states are able to register themselves on the HSBTE website and apply under the KM category.
“We are aware about this issue and will resolve it shortly,” said Anand Mohan Sharan, additional chief secretary (ACS) and chairman of HSBTE.
Last week, Vikas Gupta, CEO of PPP, had told HT that he was looking into the matter. The PPP, a family ID, is linked to different welfare schemes. The state government says PPP identifies every family in Haryana and keeps the basic data of the family in a digital format. The PPP is used for determining eligibility for automatic self-selection of beneficiaries for receiving benefits.
However, the KMs based in Haryana say the PPP has become a stumbling block for their children aspiring to pursue undergraduate technical courses in Haryana colleges. They say because of the PPP, their children are unable to apply under the KM category under which they get reservation in admission.
“The HSBTE launched registration on June 7. Since then, we have been knocking at the doors of the state government without any response,” said parents of KM students, urging not to be identified and pointing out that they had brought this issue to the notice of ACS Anand Mohan Sharan and director general (technical education) Rajiv Rattan two weeks ago.
“Officially, there is no clarification yet as to why Haryana-based Kashmiri students are being treated as original residents of Haryana. Due to this intentional or unintentional lapse, students are being forced to seek admission in other states,” said a KM parent, adding when the KM students apply for admission online for Haryana technical courses on the basis of PPP, KM option vanishes and the candidate is treated as general category from Haryana.
The students from Kashmir’s displaced community are residing in different parts of Haryana like Gurugram, Faridabad, Panchkula, Sonepat, Ambala, Panipat, Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar and do not face this issue in other states where they are entitled to apply for admission in technical courses against reserved seats in these states.
KM students were getting reservation in technical institutions of Haryana as this facility is given by other states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi etc.
“When we tried to raise this issue at the helpline numbers given at the site, no one responded. How can we be treated as original residents of Haryana and denied reservation under Kashmiri migrant quota because our children studying in the state schools were forced to have the PPP?” said another aggrieved parent.
Dr Anil Vaishnavi, president Kashyap Kashmir Sabha, Gurugram, said it was a shocking development as Haryana-based KM students were facing unnecessary hurdles while seeking Kashmiri pandit migrant quota.
“This is very unfortunate development,” said Dr Vaishnavi.