The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Reservation issue

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 01, 2006

Opinion

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Reservation issue

The article "Confusion and chaos in professional education" (April 28) throws ample light on political and legal aspects of reservation. But it fails to deal with the basic issue of quality, especially in centres of higher learning. In a highly competitive global scenario nothing but excellence matters. True, the oppressed need to be given more privileges but this should not be done at the cost of quality.

The need of the hour on this very crucial issue concerning the future of the nation is an objective and meaningful debate at different levels, sans political considerations and confusing legal jargon.

R. Narayana Iyer,
Thiruvananthapuram

* * *

Asian Development Bank Chief Economist Ifzal Ali has warned that reservation in the private sector will lead to flight of skilled labour. One fails to understand why the Union HRD Ministry has proposed to provide reservation for OBCs in Central universities. The move will divide society dangerously. It is a tragedy that our politicians are ready to sacrifice anything for a few votes.

J.P. Reddy,
Nalgonda, A.P.

* * *

The move is unlikely to achieve the desired result because it seeks to strengthen the apex without firming up the foundation. People in remote rural regions do not even know what medical facilities exist in the country. Of what use is reservation in medical colleges to them? The Government wants to see those who do not even know how to walk, run. Before widening reservation, it should ask itself whom it wants to help.

Ruby Arya,
Bhopal

* * *

With globalisation creating social and economic disparities, the private sector has emerged as the major job provider in India. Its reluctance to reserve jobs will widen the divide between the underprivileged and the privileged. The state should ensure representation of all sections in every sphere of economic activity and that includes the private sector. Positive discrimination will only strengthen democracy and deter the growth of naxalism, which is spreading its tentacles alarmingly.

Sushil Patel,
Chitrakoot, U.P.

* * *

The protest in the name of merit is truth misplaced. There were no protests to protect merit when private professional colleges mushroomed throughout the country to sell higher education to the rich who could not get admission through competition. It is obvious that the protests we see now are the result of the apprehension that the number of seats for the open category students will decline. One possible solution is to increase the number of seats in proportion to the proposed quota.

M. Bheri
Carmarthen, U.K.

* * *

Reservation harms the poor among those without reservation and the poorest among the reserved categories.

Apart from the allotted quota, students of reserved categories corner sizeable chunks of open seats. Reservation is vote bank politics that denies freedom to the unreserved.

S. Sundara Srinivasan,
Ballwin, Missouri

* * *

The Government should start new professional schools, or dedicate existing ones, exclusively for the empowerment of backward communities. The Howard University established for African-Americans by a Congressional Charter in 1867 in Washington D.C., ranks among the best in the U.S. today.

Ganesh S. Krishnan,
Minnesota

* * *

Quotas for weaker sections presume availability of eligible candidates at the entry level and their inability to get admission because of a lack of knowledge and skill. The solution to the problem without compromising on quality is to train candidates belonging to the weaker sections to improve their skills. OBC candidates will then be able to get their due share on their own merit.

K. John Mathai,
Kochi, Kerala

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Opinion

News Update

Stories in this Section

More than a demat scam

Iran refuses to blink

Alternative approaches to West Asian crises

Narmada: the cost of delaying rehabilitation

China's new push on the African continent

Unfair omission: an author's protest