DigitEye India Fact Checkers
An image with a poster is doing the rounds on social media with a claim that the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has scrapped reservations in private medical colleges. The wording also said, “English to be introduced in UP Govt schools from Nursery.” One more caption on the poster reads: “A massive step towards ending unfair caste-based reservations!”
It is being shared with several captions such as ”
What? No wonder @RahulGandhi was insisting on caste sensus! pic.twitter.com/Trpiz4zwMK
— Suby #ReleaseSanjivBhatt (@Subytweets) February 7, 2024
”
In another, it was stated: “Please awaken SCs, STs, OBCs, Minorities: “MUSLIMS”, “CHRISTIANS”. This is the beginning of the Disaster (sic).” The post has been shared here and here.
FACT CHECK
When Digiteye India searched for authenticity of the news, we could retrieve several old news reports pertaining to 2017 decision by the then Samajwadi Party (SP) government to the effect clarifying that there would be no reservations in private medical colleges for admissions. Initially, India Today reported that the Yogi Adityanath government ended reservations in private medical colleges and later gave a clarification here.
Then Director General of Medical Education, Dr V.N. Tripathi, had issued the order on March 10, 2017 and when it was wrongly reported, he reiterated the fact that both private medical and dental colleges in UP did come under the ambit of the new law. The claim was refuted and reported widely in media in 2017. The order had brought these private medical colleges under the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to medical seats. However, the decision was eventually implemented during the successive Yogi Adityanath government.
Otherwise, in Uttar Pradesh, the reservations were made specific in 2006 under the Uttar Pradesh Admission to Educational Institutions (Reserved for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes) Act, applicable to both aided and unaided private educational institution. Under this Act, 21% reservation was given to SC, 2% percent to ST, and 27% to OBC. However, these reservations were not made applicable to private medical and dental colleges.
The decision to exclude private colleges had been upheld by the Allahabad High Court in its 2011 verdict when the bench observed that reservations for admissions in private unaided and self-finance institutions are violative of the basic structure of the Constitution of India.
Claim: Yogi Adityanath government scrapped reservations from private medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh.
Conclusion: False. The Yogi Adityanath government did not scrap reservations from private medical and dental colleges in Uttar Pradesh. It was the previous Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party government that implemented the rule.
Rating: Misrepresentation — 
