The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Opinion divided on quota policy

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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Opinion divided on quota policy

Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD: Speakers at a debate on reservations in education and employment were divided over continuation of the policy on Saturday.

Press Academy chairman Devulapalli Amar regretted that there was a lot of disinformation and lop-sided argument against reservations in the elite institutions of higher learning. The debate was led by the urban elite who were not concerned about the 70 per cent backward population that was marginalised to a large extent, Mr. Amar said at the meeting organised by National HRD Network here.

He felt that the reservations must be viewed in the context of achieving real equality of opportunities, a social environment and compensatory discrimination to ensure social justice. Only when substantial sections were convinced about the justification and reasonableness of reservations, the divisive anti-reservation movements could be avoided or limited, he added.

P.R. Tripathi, former chairman of National Mineral Development Corporation, said the reservations could be done away with if primary education developed. However, it required hard work and support of various institutions.

Review by experts

He said a review of reservation policy should not be left to political parties as they would be interested in expanding their power base. Instead, it should be handed over to an expert group.

L. Ravichander, an advocate, rejected the argument that reservations hampered merit. He said reservations for SCs and STs should be viewed differently from OBCs. Saurabh Bharadwaj, who represented an NGO Youth for Equality, said the debates on reservations did not lead to a conclusion.

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