Puducherry: The need to review the regional reservations that are being followed for admission into medical and engineering colleges in Puducherry has led to the formation of a new committee consisting of Members of Legislative Assembly.

Public Works Minister M.O.H.F. Shahjahan, who holds the Collegiate Education profile also, announced the move.

The committee would be formed soon, said the Minister, for elaborately discussing the demand to review regional reservations.

The need for the formation of the review committee was felt when a few problem had arisen in the already existing reservation system for students belonging to Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam. "A clear decision would be achieved only after extensive discussion," said Shahjahan.

According to the current reservation system decided after Census 2001, 18 percent was allotted to students of Karaikal, 4 percent for Mahe and 3 percent for Yanam for admission into medical and engineering colleges in Puducherry.

MLA S.P. Sivakumar, who had brought the attention on the issue, said that this system was wrong as there was no relation between the population and reservation for students in professional colleges. He complained that there was no reservation for students from Puducherry.

"Many students from Puducherry especially those from government schools in rural areas have suffered due to this unreasonable reservation system. Several students who secured higher marks than those from the three regions could not get the opportunity to get selected for these courses," he added.

Opposition leader A.M.H. Nazeem, who is against the withdrawal of the regional reservation system, asked the government to take measures to remove the quota for students of other states from Puducherry colleges.