The Union Education Ministry has constituted an expert committee to revisit its regulations and guidelines on ‘anti-discrimination’ with respect to the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Other Backward Classes, Persons with Disabilities, and other minorities in higher educational institutions, the Centre told the Parliament on Wednesday.

Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar told the Rajya Sabha that, the University Grants Commission (UGC) had taken this step in pursuance of a Supreme Court direction on July 6, where the apex court had asked the government to clarify the affirmative steps it had taken to make campuses free of caste discrimination.

The Centre told the Rajya Sabha that the expert committee had been formed on July 21.

“The committee will revisit the UGC regulations/schemes concerning the SC/ST/OBC/PwD and minority communities in Higher Educational Institutions [HEIs] and suggest further remedial measures if required to make non-discriminatory environment for SC/ST students in HEIs,” the Education Ministry said.

The UGC had in 2012 issued the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Educational Institutes) Regulations, 2012. This covered several forms of discrimination, provided for liaison officers to check reservation fulfilment, and gave mandates for strict grievance redressal cells to address concerns of discrimination. The 2012 UGC regulations asked all higher educational institutions not to discriminate against any student belonging to SC and ST in matters of admission. The institutions were also required to prohibit, prevent and also punish persons and authorities in institutions who harass or victimise any student on the basis of caste, creed, religion, language, ethnicity, gender, or disability.