NEW YORK: US President Donald Trump 's administration is preparing to probe a complaint by four Indian-American organisations and other Asian groups that Harvard University discriminates against students from the communities in its admission process. Justice Department Spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said on Wednesday the department wants to investigate the "administrative complaint filed by a coalition of 64 Asian-American associations in May 2015 that the prior administration left unresolved".Flores said: "The complaint alleges racial discrimination against Asian-Americans in a university's admission policy and practices. "The Global Organisation of Persons of Indian Origin (Gopio), National Federation of Indian-American Associations, American Society of Engineers of Indian Origin, and BITS Sindri Alumni Association of North India were among the 64 Asian groups that jointly filed the federal complaint.The complaint said: "Many Asian-American students who have almost perfect SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) scores, top one per cent GPAs (Grade Point Average), plus significant awards or leadership positions in various extracurricular activities have been rejected by Harvard University and other Ivy League Colleges while similarly situated applicants of other races have been admitted. "The Department of Justice is committed to protecting all Americans from all forms of illegal race-based discrimination," she added.A former civil rights official, Vanita Gupta , told The New York Times that the person sought for the investigation will be in "the political front office" and this "suggests that this person will be carrying out an agenda aimed at undermining diversity in higher education without needing to say it".Gupta was the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General in President Barack Obama's administration and led the the civil rights division. She is now the President of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

Source: Times of India August 04, 2017 15:38 UTC