Fast forward to 2006- I was involved in an organization(Pudiyador.org) that seeks to enrich the lives of kids who are less fortunate than us. As a part of this I was teaching a bunch of 11Th grade kids their physics lessons. I was shocked at the level of knowledge these kids had. They had difficulty doing basic arithmetic and these kids were meant to compete at an equal footing with people like me? And its not like these kids weren't smart. They just had not been provided the opportunity to learn which you and me had got.
This made me realize firstly how lucky I am and secondly what reservation aims to achieve. It aims for a level playing field which is necessitated by the chasm which exists between the have and the have-nots in our country. It aims to do what our public education system cannot. But is it the answer? The primary argument against reservation is that its on the basis of communities and not based on economic condition of the people. A very valid argument. But that's how our country is being operated. Everything works on the basis of religion and we don't seem to be complaining elsewhere. Its only when it affects us directly do we begin to dissect it and point out its frailties.
Reservation is necessary- If out of 10 people who avail the benefits of reservation only 1 truly deserves it then so be it. At least 1 person is getting benefited. The other 9 would have gotten by just fine either way. Until we can bridge the gap in early education between the rich and the poor reservation is here to stay. Whether it evolves to be on the basis of economic status or will it continue by the divisions which we have brought on ourselves only time will tell.
Rightly pointed out dude! I am not against reservation but just that it has to reach out to the right people. Also, some process must be in place to take care that the seats under reservation is not wasted and an equal opportunity must be given to someone from another caste/community(commonly called OC) who is economically not sound; To achieve this, may be a temporary solution is to have a separate quota called "Economically Backward" along with the existing ones. This quota should be available to people based on their income and their current economic condition. Of course, other people who do not belong to backward communities and dont fall under this new quota, will be economically sound and will be able to sneak through.
ReplyDeleteBut a cost benefit analysis of the reservation system would show that we lose so much money because of the way the system is being implemented..I'm not against reservation but I'm decidedly against reservation on the basis of caste..if reservation is based on economic criteria,it would definitely help bridge the chasm..a few years down the line,people in forward communities but who have been deprived of their legitimate rights, (you and I are the lucky ones here because we are no longer directly affected by the system)because of the system would demand reservation on the basis that they have been discriminated against for so long..it will be a virtuous cycle..our corrupt politicians are making full use of the system to achieve their own ends..(end of rant)
ReplyDelete@both.. Totally agree with what you guys said. But the bigger issue is being side stepped here. With the kind of corruption we have even if a economic reservation is imposed people will find a way to circumvent this. The real answer is better standards of education for everyone. A better public school program. Thats what we should be striving for.
ReplyDeletea better public school program .. that i agree with.. reservation - not so much..
ReplyDeleteits like the reservation in the IIT's.. the students who get in through quota's find it difficult to compete or even pass the exams in within the stipulated maximum of 7 years.. and now they want that duration to be increased to 8 years.. and lower pass marks ..!! you see where this goes ??
you are not turning out IITians then.. just a guy with a degree no different from what he would be if he passed out of any other normal grad school... and imagine what kind of doctors one would get out of such a system.. do you really think giving someone from a econmically weak section an opportunity warrant or justify a doctor not worth his salt and endangers the lives of others..
now the public school system is an excellent idea.. u give them the basic education to come to a stage wherein they can make informed choices.. another idea is to provide economic assistance.. in the form of loans.. or scholarships .. but only based on merit .. it is the same way ppl who go to abroad manage their fees.. even with the huge fee they still go.. they only require loans.. not charity..
End Point: reservation is neither the means nor the end solution..neither by itself or in conjunction with other schemes of opportunity... it propagates nothing but "loss of value" and begets a class of society that is incapable of doing its job..
@Aravind- I agree with all what you said. But in the current scenario I cant see beyond reservation. We are not in a position to suddenly provide public education to the masses. Also what happens to those already in school. Say in high school. They not gonna change suddenly.
ReplyDeleteAnd based on merit? Unless its a level playing field right from primary education the concept of a merit based support system is pretty meaningless. If thats the way it has to work then it HAS to be a level field where everyone has the same opportunity right from the time they step into school.
I know reservation is not the solution. Or the end in itself. But ppl seem to be sidestepping the real issues and just blast reservation without any idea on whats really happening. This post is addressed at those ppl.
i quote an article here
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_ambedkar-had-called-for-measured-reservation-quotas_1029715
On November 30, 1948, the founding father of the Constitution Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar had a note of caution for future governments--large scale reservation quotas could destroy the rule of equality of opportunity. He advocated that reservation quotas be consistent with Article 10 (now Article 14) of the constitution and must be confined to minority of seats.
Tracing the Dalit issue wherein our Govt, used the reservations policy to benefit the Scheduled Castes. Has nearly seven decades of implementing reservations paid off in terms of giving Dalits a bigger stake in Indian society ?
You see reservation was supposed to be a temporary solution "until determined by mutual agreement between the communities concerned".. but we have seen the results .. we are only finding more and more sections of society who "demand reservation as a right".. the reservation system was forecasted to bring a level playing within three five year plans post its introduction.. but we are yet to see the benefits of this system contributing back to the society... to the people who merited the seat but were forced to give them up..
The basic premise of reservation fails in the sense that we take away the opportunity of one and give it to the other..
in essence the principle of robinhood...
ps: your blog has an additional follower now :)
ReplyDelete@Aravind.. U got any other ideas?
ReplyDeleteFrankly I am blank. I do see your side of the argument. But isnt whats being done their entire lives? Their meaning the less fortunate ones? The opportunity taken away from one person and given to another. Isnt it happening when a person goes to a better school than the other person just because he can afford it? Isnt that just another form of taking away the opportunity of one and give it to the other..
your public school system is the best idea dude.. starting at the grass roots...
ReplyDeletea) let us assume that the government starts spending the money paid in education cess taxes by those who have the opportunity now (by means of merit or money) towards setting up schools in every taluk or district or whatever is the minimum area which covers a sizeable population within commutable distance..
b) the only difference between this school and a private one should only be the number of pipettes and burettes. or the size of the play ground.. not in terms of quantifiable gaps in education or in the mode/quality of teaching..
c) let there be only one board of syllabus across all schools.. public, private or aided.. the only variation would be in the second or third language not the medium of instruction..
If we commence on such a system now imagine the benfits we will reap 12 years when the first batch come out..
the basic problems we address through this methods are
1. common syllabus/medium of instruction (english) - means by the time these kids graduate from high school they are as good as any other in terms of knowledge..
2. Setting up schools of decent standards would also elicit an exponential increase in awareness among children whose natural curiosity would entice them towards bigger aspirations.. bigger than dreams of 3 meals a day..
I know i am not addressing the problem of the current under privliged.. but i feel the current system has not made progress either using "reservation" for 50 years.. ISRO and IIT's and IIM's have become institutes of knowledge because of the aristocracy of merit and the natural prosperity that follows intelligence and competence...
We should endeavour towards a system that fosters the latter and not something that encourages people to forge their birth certificate for a "backward-caste" quota or forge their income statements for an "economically-backward" quota.. :)
This is a very debatable topic..as you rightly pointed economic conditions should be the governing factor..I know poor and rich people in all castes, so it doesn't make sense to have reservations based the ancient caste system...the biggest problem is that the Government has no means to track every single individual, a social security card sort of a thing...I heard the government along with Nilakeni is planning on such a unique identification card...I have a feeling that is a great step to begin with...lest hope it actually materializes without much fraud...
ReplyDelete@viji U are perfectly right! Thats what I was explaining to someone the other day. The biggest issue is tracking ppl and classifying them. But whether it materializes without fraud is another question entirely.
ReplyDelete