The Cabinet sub-committee formed to review Jammu and Kashmir’s reservation system has finished its work and completed its report on time, Education Minister Sakina Masood Itoo said on Tuesday.
Sharing the update on social media platform X, Itoo said the report will now be presented to the Cabinet for discussion and approval.
The reservation policy has been in the spotlight since the central government changed the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act in 2023.
These changes conferred Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to new communities such as Paharis, Padaris, Kolis, and Gadda Brahmins.
The government said the move was meant to support inclusive development and social justice.
However, it sparked protests from students, civil service aspirants and opposition parties. They argued that the changes would reduce merit-based opportunities and hurt genuinely poor groups.
Tensions rose further after the results of NEET-PG 2024 and JKCCE 2023 were announced.
Many candidates said the number of seats in the Open Merit category had reduced.
Protesters, including National Conference MP Aga Ruhullah, who led a protest outside the Chief Minister’s home in Srinagar, called the new policy a "murder of merit".
Some also worried that the total reservations might have crossed the 50 per cent limit set by the Supreme Court.
To quell the growing dissent, the government set up a Cabinet sub-committee led by Itoo to review the quota changes.
The committee met with student groups, legal experts, and community leaders. It also looked at recruitment records and exam results to make a detailed assessment.
The report is now ready and will soon be placed before the Cabinet for a final decision, he said.
It is still unclear whether the government will change the new rules or keep them as they are.
Meanwhile, students and job seekers across Jammu and Kashmir remain unsure about what the future holds for admissions and recruitment.
Some students have moved court against the new reservation policy. They argued that the new reservation rules are a disadvantage for candidates from open merit, who make up 69 per cent of the population. They also warned that these new rules could lead to social unrest.
