Agartala: The ruling Left Front in Tripura has urged the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to continue reservation of seats for the tribal and other backward class students in the National Institute of Technology (NIT) here, an official said on Wednesday.

The state government also requested the union human resource development ministry to maintain last year's cut-off marks list.

"In view of the Guwahati High Court's order cancelling the reservation for the tribal and other backward community students and Central Counselling Board (CCB) decision to follow a new system of cut-off marks for admission in the NITs across the country, the students of Tripura would be largely deprived in getting admission to the 500 seated Agartala NIT," Tripura Higher Education Minister Anil Sarkar said in a letter to union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal.

"A division bench of the Guwahati high court comprising Justice B.D. Agarwal and Maibam B.K. Singh last month in a judgment directed that no reservation shall be applicable in NIT-Agartala as the national institute is located in the sixth Schedule area of the constitution," Sarkar said.

He said the CCB has evolved a new system of cut-off marks this year - which is 100 for general, 78 for other backward classes and 44 for tribals, Scheduled Castes and physically challenged students - for admission into the NITs across the country.

Tripura Governor Dinesh Nandan Sahaya and leaders of various political parties and members of parliament have also urged the central government to maintain reservation and last year's cut-off marks in the NIT-Agartala.

"If the latest decisions of the high court and the CCB are introduced depriving the students of Tripura, it would cause the regional imbalances," Sarkar said.

NITs are premier colleges of engineering and technology education in India. They were originally called Regional Engineering Colleges (RECs). IANS