Candidates entitled to reservation in jobs and services will not be counted in the quota category if they do not opt for any relaxation and get selected on the same criteria that apply to general-category aspirants, the Centre told Parliament on Wednesday.

The formal announcement meets a longstanding demand from the socially deprived sections to keep meritorious candidates from the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes out of the reserved category and include them in the general category.

Minister of state for social justice Krishan Pal Gurjar told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply: “As per instructions issued by the government, in direct recruitments to central government jobs and services, the reserved category candidates, who are selected on the same standard as applied to general candidates, will not be adjusted against reserved vacancies.”

He added: “Only when a relaxed standard is applied in selecting a reserved candidate, for example in the age limit, experience, qualification, permitted number of chances in written examination, etc, such candidates will be counted against reserved vacancies.”

This will apply to the states, too.

Hansraj Suman, president of SC, ST and OBC Teachers Association in Delhi University, said the colleges under DU were violating the adjustment policy.

“In many colleges, they are including reserved category students in their respective category, irrespective of the performance. They are not displaying the vacant seats in the reserved category,” Suman said.