“Admission to Educational Institutions”
By
J.L. Gupta
Immediately after attaining independence,
admission of a child to a school was easy. Even to a college or the university.
Now, after a gap of more than 66 years, it is a nightmare. For the child as
well as the parents. At all levels. From Nursery school to a High School, college
or university. Why?
1.
The
number of applicants is more than the number of the seats available in schools,
colleges and the university;
2.
The
criterion is ever changing and always uncertain. Resultantly, the parents are
never sure of what would happen next. They are unable to plan and prepare in
advance. Thus, they are constantly at their nerves’ end and remain under
stress;
3.
The
reservations deprive the deserving and lead to avoidable frustration amongst
the candidates during the formative years;
In this background, I was not surprised
when I heard a child say – “I have secured more than 90% marks in my school and
Board examination. I have also been a regular participant in extra-curricular
activities. Still I am not able to get admission in an institution of my
choice. Should I become a Christian? If I do, I shall be able to get admission
in the institution with even a much lesser score.”
Equally frustrated, the parents ask –
1. Who are a minority? Is it that merely
numbers matter?
2. If equality is the basic feature of the
Constitution, is the denial of a right enjoyed by the minority to the majority
not denial of equality?
3. Does the action in reserving seats for
members of a particular community to the exclusion of all others not amount to discrimination
based on religion only? How do we claim to be a secular society?
4. Is it not time that the Courts and the
experts in Constitutional Law took a second look at the entire subject of
minorities and their rights so that in an effort to help a small section of the
society, we do not create an army of unhappy parents and totally frustrated
youth? The ultimate result of the present policy may be totally counter
productive and defeat the intended objective.
The issues are serious and need immediate
attention. We have delayed but we cannot afford to ignore the issues any longer
except at our own peril.
When I was growing up in the United States the state run universities were obliged to accept state residents after they graduated from High School... Everyone in the state paid taxes to support the university so the schools were there for the people... of course you might have had to attend a branch campus, but the level of education was the same, and in the end it was up to how well you applied yourself.
ReplyDeleteI have been away from the USA educational system for more years than I want to think about, so no idea how it works today... Two years ago I applied for continuing education classes at Waseda University in Tokyo and was accepted based in part on my USA state university records.
As a high school graduate in 1968 I had applied to McGill University in Montreal, Quebec and was rejected as they had already surpassed their quota of American students who, for some reason, all wanted to go north for the duration ;-).
Education is an ongoing story... You might not be able to attend the school of your (parent's) dream, but it seems to me that nothing can stop you from getting a basic education... at the end of the day, how you use the results is more important than where you graduated from and an Ivy League lunch ticket is no guarantee of a success life.
All this would be fine, if our quality was even 50% of quality of education overseas...
ReplyDeleteTakes me back to the basic. Need to control numbers.
ReplyDeleteThe education system in this country is in crying need for a complete overhaul. Not only is there lack of quality, there are not enough seats to accommodate all aspirants of higher education and the reservation system takes the cake in frustrating the deserving. My son, a recent victim of the system, got into the University of Berkley and a few other high ranking American Universities but was denied admission to the colleges of his choice in the Delhi University while many less deserving got in on the strength of their minority or religious status. He felt unfairly treated by the system. This must stop. Merit must be the only criterion. I am also against need blind subsidies in the higher education. Instead the Government should subsidize on the basis of need and with the extra money so collected from those that can pay, add more seats so that the fundamental right to education under the Constitution can be supported by adequate infrastructure on the ground. The existing infrastructure should also be more optimally utilized. College education needn't be a privilege available to a select few. Yes, there are private institutions. However, these are unregulated and do not provide quality education. These create neither skills nor employability. There are however rare exceptions to this rule. Foreign Universities if allowed, may fill this gap more suitably.
ReplyDeleteWell said uncle. Its sad to see the children slogging out day in and day out but not sure of getting admission even after getting 99% marks. How demoralising is that! Part of it is the gap between supply and demand. Too many competing for too few seats. I think if there was enough available for every one, then no one would chafe at quotas (as long as they are based on some rationale and available only for the first generation).
ReplyDeleteIt is payback time. Too bad that the kids of privileged high castes have to suffer and pay the price for the next few decades. The dissatisfied affluent parents can always send their kids abroad. Unfortunately, there they will have to face other kind of discriminations.
ReplyDeleteThis is really ironic. For centuries the Brahmins and other high caste Hindus (BOHCH) practiced the vulgarities of caste system, kept a strict control over it and lynched Sudras, the low castes, for touching or even casting their shadow on BOHCH. Even the poorest Brahmins were to be held in high esteem by the low castes. The Sudras on the other hand had no hope in hell to throw their curse away and become anything else in their lifetime. And now the same high castes are fighting against the casteism and demand equality because now the low castes have benefits guaranteed by the constitution. BOHCH will proudly tell you that the scriptures never promoted caste system and everyone was created equal but to do different tasks at different times. They will quote:
You are Brahmin when you use your brain for good.
You are Kshatriya when you use your strength for good.
You are Vaishya when you create wealth for good.
You are Sudra when you clean the society for good.
Each one of us is Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra at different times of a day. None of us is above the other. This is Varna system of Vedas.
No one except for few great men likes of Mahatma Gandhi understood and practiced the concept of caste equality. The rest enjoyed the life made easy by Sudras and no one cared and tried to uplift their lot. Fathers of our constitution understood the importance of equal opportunity to all the Indian citizenry, and embedded equal rights for the down-trodden through reservation system though for an initial five years period. The rest is history. Now each state is using/misusing the implementation of Article 15(4) of the constitution.
Jai Hind
Well said Uncle! The entire issue touches a raw nerve of the nation. Perhaps, marred by reservation, the largest democracy in the world has not been able to set up even a single institution that ranks amongst the top 50 in the world. Indeed, time to wake up and live in the present.
ReplyDelete