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Why there are reservations
Campus Notes |
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Why there are reservations The 15 per cent reservation for children from economically backward sections in all schools in Chandigarh is a truly laudable step in the sense that the powers that be, seem to have realise at last that there is a need to give quality school education to the underprivileged, without which they cannot make a meaningful utilisation of the plethora of reservations that are available to them both in institutions of higher learning and in government jobs. The schools concerned will either make laudatory comments or maintain a studious silence because it would be politically incorrect for them to do otherwise. In any case, the financial burden will be passed on to the affluent parents by way of an enhancement of fees. My concern is that this is not ethically correct. This segment of society has already paid an extra 2 per cent in their income tax by way of an education cess. They need to be informed about how this cess has been utilised before they are burdened with an additional “tax” for the implementation of this laudable attempt at social welfare. My second concern is based on the criteria to be adopted to fill this quota. All good schools have a strict admission test and only children above a certain cut-off point in this test are admitted to the school. This is one of the measures by which these schools are able to maintain the quality the benefit of which the UT administration now seeks to pass on to the underprivileged children. If not enough candidates are found to fill this quota following such admission procedures, will schools be required to lower their standards as is being done for reserved quota in professional colleges? I can think of a situation where children with 15 per cent in their admission test will be admitted in order to complete the mandatory quota. This will not only be extremely unfair on the child concerned but also result in the lowering of the quality of education in these schools and, so, undermine the very reason why this scheme has come into effect. My third concern is based on my personal experience of a similar scheme launched by the government in the 1950s: children from the economically backward class were selected on merit on the basis of an all-India examination and sponsored by the Central Government to study in the leading residential schools of the country. This scheme was finally withdrawn in the 1980s for two reasons. It was found, in many cases, that children selected for the scheme did not actually belong to the economically backward classes. From one state, for a number of years, we only had children of officials of the Education Department, which conducted the examination. Secondly, the children faced the trauma of being torn between two worlds: the elitist world of the school and the impoverished world of their homes. Unable to afford the luxuries possessed by their peers, they blamed their parents and turned hostile towards them. With this emotional and psychological burden on their minds, it is no wonder that few, if any, were able to benefit from their school education and do well in life. In the present scheme, too, steps need to be taken to deal with these two problems before its implementation. The real solution to this problem lies in upgrading the state-run schools to bring them to the same level as private schools. If, however, the administration lacks the will or the ability to be able to do this, it should follow Bhagat Puran Singh’s advice and close down all private schools. When politicians, bureaucrats and other powers that be, have perforce to send their children to state-run schools, standards in these schools will improve drastically and immediately.
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Campus Notes Distinguished social and political scientists gathered to participate in a two-day workshop on “Punjab: Human Development Report 2004” unanimously viewed that district-level estimates of the development module should be implemented. The workshop was organised by the Department of Commerce and Business Management in collaboration with the university’s Centre for Studies of Punjab Politics this week. The eminent scholars said the cultivation of water-saving crop needed to be encouraged and this required market support by the state. They expressed concern over the declining growth rates of agriculture and manufacturing. They said several sections of society in Punjab had been left out of the new prosperity of the Green Revolution era and the agrarian economy of the state was in crisis. Some aspects of the agrarian change and operative constraints enlisted in the report failed to portray and recognise grass-root realities. The scholars felt that the health system in Punjab had also collapsed. The introduction of Punjab Health Systems and categorisation and introduction of referral services (by spending nearly Rs 420 crore) had achieved little because there were no trained personnel. The report ignores canal irrigation, a dominating source till the 1970s. Punjab needs to be operated as a reservoir: allow the filling up when demand for irrigation is low and empty it when there is greater demand. More than 20 scholars presented their critical analysis on the various aspects of the report. HAU, Hisar With a view to strengthening research and development cooperation between India and Germany, a delegation of the German Academic Exchange Service visited Haryana Agricultural University (HAU) here. During its visit, the team interacted with students and visited various colleges and research farms to have an overview of the teaching and research facilities. At a meeting with the Registrar, Dr M. S. Kuhad; Dean of Postgraduate Studies, Dr S. S. Dahiya; and Director of Students Welfare, Dr R. S. Baliyan, they discussed about the possibilities of increasing cooperation between two countries in the emerging global scenario. The delegation included Mr Ulcrich Podewils, Director of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and two Programme Officers, Mr Apoorv Mahendru and Ms Aditi Gosavi. The HAU Professor of Plant Breeding and a former grantee of DAAD, Dr R.K. Behl, convened their visit. Mr Podewils and Mr Mahendru guided the university students on educational opportunities and fellowship programmes in Germany. They also highlighted the roll of DAAD in promoting opportunities for scientific exchange between India and Germany through educational courses that the German universities offer and through the financial support programmes available. HPU, Shimla
The state has finally withdrawn the proposed MoU that was to be signed between it and the three universities. The MoU was being viewed as an attempt to erode the autonomous character of the university. The teaching community, employees associations and various student organisations had come out strongly against the signing of the MoU. These pressure groups had floated a joint forum to fight the signing of the MOU. The Chief Secretary, Mr S. S. Parmar, clarified that the government was committed to maintaining the autonomy of the universities, but these institutions would remain financially accountable to the state, the legislature and the public. He said it appeared that the proposed MoU had been misconstrued to be an instrument that would reduce the autonomy of these institutions.The employees, teachers and students have welcomed the decision of the government. There were apprehensions that the signing of the MoU would lead to hike in fee structure, ban on filling vacancies and creation of posts. Contributed by Pawan Kumar, Sunit Dhawan
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