Eleazer Kahin residing in Chak No 263 R.B Rahmat Pura, Dijkot, Faisalabad scored 953 marks in Matriculation with science subjects. In FSc, he attained 870 marks. For the academic year 2024-25, he applied on open merit for his admission in MS Computer Sciences at the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. Unfortunately, he did not qualify. Even when he inquired about the quota of reserved seats for minorities, the admission team still refused him admission, arguing that he did not apply specifically on the reserved seat before the closing date for applications.
Although the term ‘minority’ refers to national, ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities, the Constitution of Pakistan only recognises religious minorities. Religious minorities are marginalised in Pakistan so the government takes some affirmative actions to uplift these communities from time to time as guided by international law.
Rationale for education quota
In 2009, the Federal cabinet approved a five percent job quota in federal government services for minorities. Punjab and Sindh also made a five percent reservation whereas Balochistan initially reserved three percent then enhanced it up to five percent. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa initially reserved 0.5 percent which was then increased to three percent.
The federal notification directed that if no minority candidate(s) comes forth, the reserved vacancies were to be moved over to the next year. Hence, the government gave some thought to stopping possible misconduct and misappropriation of reserved quotas.
However, in June 2024, in its 14th report to the Supreme Court, the One-Man Commission on Minorities Rights at Supreme Court of Pakistan (Dr Shoaib Suddle) stated that the provincial governments have filled 17,924 posts out of the 49,457 sanctioned under the five percent job quota for minorities in the public sector while 31,533 vacancies remain unfilled.
According to data submitted by the Human Rights and Minorities Affairs Department, Government of the Punjab, to the Supreme Court of Pakistan in July 2018, 5,151 recruitments were made against 8,337 posts on the Minority Quota basis. The data revealed that 3,186 posts stayed vacant. The department gave two main reasons for disparity in reservation and recruitment, i.e., eligible minority candidates meeting the criteria were not available and minority candidates did not apply for the reserved posts.
In the year 2017, the highest ratio of posts (88%) remained vacant for the minority quota in the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC). Out of 923 reserved posts, 812 posts remained unfilled. However, the PPSC pronounced that “posts remained vacant due to the non-availability of suitable candidates”. In above both examples, no deep-rooted reasons were provided to highlight the obstacles for meeting the required target for reserved job quota among minorities.
However, one of the reasons for not being able to secure jobs is the higher educational qualification of minority applicants. For the most part religious minorities fill the job quotas for menial jobs while high-ranked job seats remain vacant. According to the Census of Pakistan 1998, the literacy rate of the country was 45%, while within the Christian community, it was recorded at 34%, for Hindus 19%, and for other minorities at 17%. The 2017 survey on the Economic and Social Well-being of Women by Punjab Commission on the Status of Women also showed that minority women lagged (12.2 %) behind in literacy than the average (48.4%) in the province.
Quota in higher education
As an affirmative action in September 2020, a two-percent quota was announced for religious minorities in public educational institutions affiliated to higher education across Punjab. The Government of Punjab was the only provincial government to issue a notification for this educational quota. However, institutions like Quaid-e-Azam College of Commerce, University of Peshawar and University of Karachi have reserved two percent quota for minority students on their own.
To gauge the implementation and effectiveness of reserved seats for minorities in Punjab, Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) collected related data from different public universities using the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act, 2013.
For the academic year 2023-24, in public sector universities in Punjab, out of 1,086 seats announced under the minority quota, only 218 (20.07%) have been filled, leaving 868 seats (79.93%) vacant. This indicates that a substantial number of reserved seats are not being filled by the intended students. Implementation of the two-percent quota in 33 out of 50 universities reveals significant gaps in both implementation and effectiveness.
The situation is particularly alarming in universities like Ghazi University, in Dera Ghazi Khan, where all 60 minority quota seats remained vacant. In Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, only 12 out of 150 seats were filled. Similarly, in Pir Mehar Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, none of the nine allocated seats were filled.
Even institutions with a higher number of reserved seats, such as University of Punjab in Lahore (65 vacant seats), failed to utilise the majority of their allocated seats. Prominent institutions, including the University of Sargodha, also struggle to fill their allocated seats, indicating structural barriers in the quota’s implementation.
Some universities, such as Rawalpindi Women University, Rawalpindi admitted students solely on open merit. Newer universities, like the University of Layyah and the University of Kamalia, cited administrative delays in implementing the quota as they are not yet fully operational. Moreover, medical universities such as Fatima Jinnah Medical University Lahore and Faisalabad Medical University have no provisions for minority quota.
There has not been any official policy introduced by the government other than notifications. The major gap is the unavailability of an administrative department / regulatory authority, which can monitor and effectively address challenges in the implementation of the quota provisions. This absence of an institutional system of checks and balances has limited the utility and impact of the quota policy.
Minorities face multiple forms of discrimination and marginalisation in society; therefore, the question of empowerment should be seen in totality, urgency and utility for society. Often, in the prospectus and on the website of universities, the quota for minorities is not specifically, explicitly or clearly mentioned. For example, in Eleazer Kahin’s case, he did not know that he should apply for open merit and quota seat separately. The universities and departments must oversee the entire system of this provision, from advertisement of seats for minority students to creating discrimination free environment at academic institutions.
Recommendations
The government should extend a mandatory two percent minority quota to medical universities and Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs. The absence of quota provision in major medical institutions, such as Fatima Jinnah Medical University and Faisalabad Medical University, highlights the need to address this gap.
It should adopt a model similar to the one applied for the quota for differently-abled people, where students admitted under this category are fully funded. In contrast, students under the minority quota only receive partial fee waivers. To address the economic constraints of minority students, the government can utilise grants such as the Punjab Educational Endowment Fund (PEEF), which has not been fully utilised in recent years.
The government should also introduce more enablers for empowerment of minorities. An educational package (infrastructure, nutrition and social services) to address low literacy rate among minorities in colleges, universities, professional and technical education is required.
It should work closely in partnership with local minority communities, Civil Society Organisations and Community Based Organisations to address disparity of rights and opportunities, and implement projects aimed at economic empowerment, and provision of primary health care for minorities as well.
There is a need for greater awareness among minority communities regarding their right to reserved seats in higher education institutions. This can be achieved through targeted outreach programs, collaborations with civil society organisations, and media campaigns. While Muslim students are awarded 10 to 20 marks for being Hafiz-e-Quran for admissions in professional colleges and for employment through the Public Service Commission etc., there must be an alternative for minority students too.
Universities failing to implement the two percent quota should be held accountable through periodic audits and strict oversight from the Higher Education Department (HED) and relevant provincial education bodies. An autonomous and independent statutory National Commission for Minorities Rights (NCMR) must be constituted with a mandate to monitor the implementation of rights of minorities, to oversee policies and give advice on policy matters.
Nabila Feroz Bhatti is a human rights activist and columnist. She can be reached at nabilaferoz@gmail.com and on X: @NabilaFBhatti
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