Upgrade colleges

I read with interest the article “The great cut-off controversy” (July1) by Prof Deepak Pental. High cut-offs (even 100%) for admissions to undergraduate courses in colleges affiliated to Delhi University and elsewhere have elicited a debate in the country. Suggestions for establishing more quality institutions of higher education, redesigning 10+2 examination, considering other criteria along with marks, and need for another  level-playing examination need  to be explored.

However, failure to get admission in a desired course despite good performance in qualifying and entrance examinations, reports of malpractices like leaking of question papers and facilitated admissions are annual episodes which we forget once the admission session is over and when the new academic session starts and students resume their studies. There is another aspect of the problem. Many seats remain vacant in engineering, MBA and even degree colleges across the country. It indicates that we need to redeploy resources as per educational demands of the students.

Increasing competition for admission to certain colleges and courses emphasizes the need for improving access to quality education in the country. However, 95-100% cut-offs for admissions put a serious question mark on the particular examination. In 2011, more than 10 million students appeared in 10+2 examinations in the country, and this is likely to increase every year. How will the Indian education system meet the educational needs of such a large student population? No doubt higher education system has improved the capacity by opening several universities, IITs and IIMs, and now we have more than 500 universities and 25,000 colleges of different types. The problem lies in the quality of these institutions, as is pointed out by FICCI general secretary Rajeev Kumar, who has clearly stated that only 40% of these institutions are accredited. Moreover, most of the private institutions need to improve their standards and also get through the accreditation process to gain the confidence of the public. Opening of resource-draining institutions like IITs, IIMs etc may not solve the problem of offering quality education to such a large number of students. The existing colleges across the country, where seats remain vacant, particularly in rural areas, need to be upgraded through liberal grants.

Dr V R PARSHAD, Ludhiana

Female dignity

This has reference to the article, “Among (un) equals” (June 29) by Madhu Purnima Kishwar. The statistical analysis given by the author to prove the fact that the West is not behind Third World countries when it comes to violation of women’s rights ignores the aspect of legal remedies available to such affected women. It has to be noted that in countries like India, it takes years for a female victim to get justice.

Law enforcement officials themselves rank among those who stand accused of harassing dignified Indian females. No doubt, the rate of crime against women in western countries is also very high. But the justice delivery system in those countries ensures that such victims do not face double jeopardy, first at the hands of the accused and then harassed by the system. Any act that undermines female dignity anywhere in the world is absolutely despicable.

KSHITIJ BANSAL, Karnal