Mr. Arjun Singh, HRD minister, Government of India, craves for the credit in
reservation issue. But he has de-reserved, without consultation with the
states, a part of the seats in the Regional Engineering Colleges now called
National Institute of Technology.The removal of the word 'regional' may suggest
the ascendancy of the centralising mind set in the federal india.
The all-India level examination known as AIEEE is conducted by the CBSE. The
results were out by the 6th of June. The process called consultation with the
students are to start today i.e. 16 June. At the eleventh hour, on 9 June 2008,
Mr Arjun Singh issued a circular that threatens to reduce the number of
students getting into these 'national' institutes from the north east leading
to a widening of the gap in national average and the region's average in the
opportunity to get technical education per lakh person.
In Silchar, Assam has the sole NIT. There are 460 seats. Out of that 230 seats
are for the students of the state, who have qualified in AIEEE, in order of
merit. The rest 230 seats are up for exchange with the seats of the NITs in
other Union Territories and States. So, the first category is kind of reserved
and second category too is reserved in the sense that it opens a vista for the
students of the state to get into NITs in other states offering choice subjects
for them.
Now the circular puts an end to the second category reservation. From this
year, the second category shall not be the exchange domain of the state's
students. Those seats will be filled up from the All-India merit list. As the
students of the states like Assam are dispersed away from the higher ranks,
and the students from UP/Bihar/Delhi approproate the higher positions,
naturally 230 seats of Silchar NIT will now be filled up by students from
these states without Assam's earlier entitlement to exchange those seats for
her students in other NITs.
Difference of a single mark may mean diffrence of a postion by few thousand in
the all India merit list. Assam's students do not stand a chance in this fierce
competition. That the CBSE conducts the examination makes it difficult for
students under the State's Higher Secondary Council. To add to the woes, some
of the institutions from Assam are allowing students from affluent Delhi and
other advanced areas to take admission few months before the final
examinations for a price, and by dint of that even these students are
considered domiciles of Assam. These students are making a dent into the
prospects of the state's students getting even the 230 seats that are still
reserved for the state.
This last minute circular from HRD ministry was without consultation with the
State Governments. It is contrary to the Minister's own finding and assurance
in 2006 that he's duty bound to lift Assam to the national average in terms
of opportunity for her aspiring students getting into technical institutes.
But in the global context, should we say 'let the fittest survive'.
Uttam Kumar Borthakur
Check out the all-new face of Yahoo! India. Go to http://in.yahoo.com/
_______________________________________________
assam mailing list
[email protected]
http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
