http://roundtableindia.co.in/the-news/special-features/2046-higher-education-quota-must-continue-says-survey-.html
Higher education quota must continue, says survey
<http://roundtableindia.co.in/the-news/special-features/2046-higher-education-quota-must-continue-says-survey-.html>
-
- <http://www.alphaplug.com/>
[image: Hits] [image: smaller text tool
icon]<http://roundtableindia.co.in/the-news/special-features/2046-higher-education-quota-must-continue-says-survey-.html#>[image:
medium text tool
icon]<http://roundtableindia.co.in/the-news/special-features/2046-higher-education-quota-must-continue-says-survey-.html#>[image:
larger text tool
icon]<http://roundtableindia.co.in/the-news/special-features/2046-higher-education-quota-must-continue-says-survey-.html#>
*BY Aarti Dhar, JUNE 17/10*
*"First ensure access to quality elementary education"*
Supporting the government's policy of reservation in Central institutions of
higher education in the country, a survey has said such an affirmative
action will have to continue until the existing inequalities in terms of
access to quality elementary education are removed. “The reservation policy
compensates these inequalities faced by the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled
Tribes, Other Backward Classes and the Muslim community,” it says.
An analysis of the OBC reservation policy for higher education in India
carried out by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) for the National
Academy of Sciences, however, impresses upon the government to fulfil its
promise to make elementary education available and accessible to all, and
improve quality of education in order to provide a level playing field to
students from all communities.
*Positive impact*
Importantly, the study strongly recommends that compulsory universal
elementary education and quality secondary education maximise the positive
impact of reservation in higher education. “Reservation needs to be
effectively implemented and complemented with several other measures — both
short-term and long-term — to make it more effective,” the report suggests.
Also, large scale privatisation in higher education is diluting the benefits
of reservation, thus leaving a large proportion of SC, ST, OBC and Muslim
youth at a disadvantage.
Pointing out that there was no conclusive evidence to suggest that the
existing reservation has diluted merit or lowered quality of professional
education, the report describes reservation to OBC without the creamy layer
as an important step forward to make the poor and marginalised among the
OBCs and Muslims access quality higher education
According to the report, evidence from Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and
Maharashtra, States with a strong history of reservation for OBCs in
educational institutions, shows that students from the OBC category are as
competitive as students from general categories in entrance exams to
institutions and final grades.
The nature and quality of elementary and secondary education available to
Hindu SCs and STs, Muslims and OBCs in tribal, rural and urban areas
undermine the capabilities of the students to compete at these levels, and
even if they compete they face serious impediments to compete for seats.
Acute lack of access to remedial and coaching for students of these
communities makes it difficult for them to compete with those having access
to better endowments and opportunities in terms of social background,
schooling and access to coaching.
*Opportunity counts*
“Given improved opportunity to better quality education at the elementary
and secondary level will certainly make the children from Dalit, tribal,
Muslim and OBC communities compete and gain access to higher education,” the
study says.
The study attempts to analyse the OBC reservation policy in State-level
institutes and tries to draw inference in the context of 27 per cent
reservation for OBCs in higher educational institutes run by the government.
Conducted over a period of six months between January and September 2008,
the study compiled and analysed status of enrolment and performance of OBC
students as compared to SC, ST and general category students in both
professional and non-professional courses from 9 universities across the
three States and data collected from TISS, the Indian Institutes of
Technology and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
--
" The so called caste-hindus are bitterly opposed to the depressed class
using a public tank not because they really believe that the water will be
thereby spoiled or will evaporate but because they are afraid of losing
their superiority of caste and of equality being established between the
former and the latter. We are resorting to this satyagraha not becasue we
believe that the water of this particular tank has any exceptional
qualities, but to establish our natural rights as citizens and human
beings."
- Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Mahad Satyagraha Conference, December 25th , 1927
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"Green Youth Movement" group.
To post to this group, send an email to [email protected].
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
[email protected].
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB.
