Odisha's SEBC reservation begins with 11.25% quota in higher education, stops short of professional fields

The Hindu

20-05-2025

The Mohan Majhi government recently approved an 11.25% reservation in admissions for students from Socially and Economically Backward Classes (SEBC) in State-owned and State-funded higher education institutions — a move seen both as the Bharatiya Janata Party's bid to champion the OBC cause and attempt to address the long-standing aspirations of Odisha's largest demographic segment.
For the first time, students belonging to the SEBC will benefit from a form of reservation in education. Both activists and political leaders have described the 11.25% reservation as a low-hanging fruit for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government to seize. They argued that the successive governments had long lacked the political will to correct the historical injustice and grant SEBCs the reservation they deserved.
OBC quota in employment
The OBC reservation has witnessed a chequered implementation in the State. Odisha implemented a 27% reservation for OBC/SEBC in jobs in 1994 and this continued until 2007, when the Odisha High Court dismissed a writ petition, upholding the Odisha Tribunal's 1998 judgment that nullified the provision in the absence of quantifiable data on OBC population. The tribunal had referred to the 1992-landmark decision in Indira Sahwney case by a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court that laid down the rule that Scheduled Tribe, Scheduled Caste and OBC reservation cannot exceed the 50% threshold in employment.
The OBC reservation in employment fell to 11.25% as the SC and ST population had been enjoying reservation proportionate to their population – ST (22.5%) and SC (16.25%). While all these were happening, reservations in education for SEBC students, which many other States have followed, did not get the attention.
Former Union Minister and veteran Congress leader Srikant Jena says States like Tamil Nadu and Telangana have OBC reservation in education to the tune of 50% and 42%, respectively, while Bihar, Kerala, and Maharashtra are providing above 30% reservations to OBCs in education. 'What prevented successive governments in Odisha from providing reservations to OBC/SEBC students to pursue education is a mystery. The OBCs are both socially and economically backward in the State,' he said.
Not in professional courses
The recent Cabinet approval for 11.25% SEBC reservation in education pertains to four departments - Higher Education, School and Mass Education, Odia Language, Literature and Culture, and Sports and Youth Services department from the current academic year – 2025-26. The government stated that in line with National Education Policy, 2020, the move aims to promote access, equity and inclusion, increase the Gross Enrollment Ratio and enhance opportunities for marginalized and disadvantaged communities in Odisha.
Opposition political parties, however, accused the Mohan Majhi government of betraying the OBC population by denying reservations in professional education including medical and engineering education where job and self-employment prospects are higher than general education. The BJP, on the other hand, argued that no previous government in Odisha had attempted to provide OBC reservation in education, and accused critics of merely trying to find loopholes.
Opposition leaders said of total 2,74,343 seats available in degree colleges, 2,04,759 students had taken admission while 69,584 seats were lying vacant in 2024-25 academic session. 'Providing reservations to OBC students in general education does not serve any purpose. The government could have at least thought of providing reservation in medical, engineering and other professional streams,' Chidananda Jena, a journalist who has moved the Orissa High Court with a prayer to extend the SEBC reservation to professional courses.
The petitioner said the BJP government could have gone beyond 11.25% as nowhere in Indira Sahwney judgment, the Apex Court had capped the reservation at 50% in education. Mr. Jena said despite OBC/SEBCs comprising 54% of Odisha's population, these students had received 0% reservation in education instead of the mandated 27% and over 7,000 OBC/SEBC students have lost medical seats this year because of reservation not applying to professional courses.
OBC demographics and politics
Although leaders across political parties have long claimed that OBCs make up nearly 54% of Odisha's population, they have lacked concrete data to support this assertion. In 2023, the then Naveen Patnaik-led government set up the Odisha State Commission for Backward Classes, headed by retired Orissa High Court judge Justice Raghunath Biswal, to determine the actual status of the OBC population in the State.
While the Commission did conduct a survey, it lacked rigorous scientific methodology. Nevertheless, it estimated that 39.31% of Odisha's population belonged to the SEBCs. The findings of the Justice Biswal Commission were never made public by the then-ruling Biju Janata Dal government.
According to the survey, 37.6% of the SEBC population had attained only primary-level education, while 10.1% were illiterate. Nearly half—49.6%—had low levels of education, either up to primary or below matriculation. About 22% had completed matriculation, intermediate-level education, or held ITI/diploma qualifications. Only 7.9% were college graduates or postgraduates, and just 1.6% held professional degrees. A mere 0.5% had education levels beyond post-graduation.
Mr. Jena stated that although the Commission's report did not fully capture the status of OBCs in the State, it provided a glimpse. 'While just 6% of the general category population (Economically Weaker Section) benefits from 10% reservation, SEBCs—who are both economically and socially disadvantaged—are left with only 11.25% and are denied proportionate representation,' he said.