Author: P. V. Indiresan
Publication: Hindu Business Line
Date: May 29, 2006
URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/05/29/stories/2006052900220800.htm
The Government has shut the quota debate by
pronouncing that it has decided. But this, says P. V. INDIRESAN, is iniquitous
as it has ordained that no institution - even if it has no government patronage
- can admit students free of caste bias. More than the number, the reservation
debate must also be about how good are those that get admitted to institutions
of higher learning.
Since the last article was written, the Government
has announced that, in the matter of reservation in Central universities,
the books have been closed.
The books have been closed without any public
debate or consultation. Even the Chairman of the high-sounding Scientific
Advisory Committee to the Cabinet has plaintively complained that he was not
consulted.
The manner the decision has been rushed through
demonstrates the contempt the Indian political establishment has for the academic
community. At the same time, it would not be wrong to say that the Indian
academic community has got what it deserved. In all this turmoil, not one
vice-chancellor (with the honourable exception of Prof Deepak Pental of Delhi
University) made any comment.
Not one among the IIT faculty, who will be
most affected by this decision, has spoken. One of them naively enquired whether
they are free to discuss the issue at all.
`BLINKERED HORSES'
IIT faculty are like blinkered race horses:
They have commendable skills in their own fields of specialisation but lack
broad vision. And courage. IIT alumni are no better. They make brave noises
but dare not act. IIT alumni are like the Mahabharata character Uttara, who
would boast before the ladies of the anthapura what heroic deeds he was capable
of but turn tail in the battlefield.
Indian politicians are past masters of Orwellian
doublespeak. They practise caste bias to the n{+t}{+h} degree and blissfully
describe it as "secularism". It has been said that if you tell a
lie long enough, it will be accepted as truth. One such lie is that IITs colour
code applications and answer books of SC/ST students during the entrance examination
in order to maliciously fail them. It is a lie but it has been spread around
so much that a respected professor in Jawaharlal Nehru University has been
asserting it as a fact.
One of the most reputed professors of the
same university has been complaining in the press that Indian varsities are
opposed to Affirmative Action. He has not bothered to check what IIT Delhi
does though only the institute is just across the road for him. The fact of
the matter is the cut-off for SC/ST students is two-thirds of the lowest mark
among those listed in JEE results. Typically, some 5,000 candidates are listed
though available seats are only around 3,000. For that reason, it is not uncommon
for SC/ST students to be admitted for a course though their marks are barely
a fourth or a fifth of what general category students scored.
In spite of this leniency, not enough students
qualify for admission. Hence, those that obtained two-thirds of the minimum
two-thirds are offered a Preparatory Course and coached for a year to enable
them to gain admission. What more can an IIT do?
Reality distorted
Unfortunately, these figures grossly distort
the real capability of SC/ST students. According to a report in The Hindu
(August 23, 2004), admissions to the 12 government medical colleges in Tamil
Nadu were: Total 1224; SC - 231; MBC - 952 and FC - 28. In the open competition,
only 31 in the FC category qualified but the numbers for the others were BC
- 315, MBC - 45 and SC - 5. The lowest marks under various categories were:
FC - 295.74; BC- 294.26; MBC - 292.13; and SC - 287.50.
Evidently, backward communities are not backward
at all. The difference between the SC candidates performance in the JEE and
in the Tamil Nadu medical admissions is startling.
The explanation may be competent SC candidates
see no profit in writing the difficult JEE examination. While there is reservation
for entrance to IITs, there is no reservation for SC/ST graduates of IIT anywhere
in the job market.
Quite rightly, they conclude that they would
be better off by getting high grades in a less challenging engineering college
than a low grade in an IIT.
It may be noted that the "Open Competition"
system weighs heavily against forward castes because reserved category students
who get in under Open Competition are not counted against their caste quota.
That is why FC admissions have been reduced to a farcical 2.3 per cent in
Tamil Nadu medical colleges.
Quality not number
It is a matter for regret that every one has
fallen into the populist trap and decided that all would be well if the number
of seats for open competition is not reduced. The reservation debate is not
how many students of forward castes gain admission; it is about how good are
those that get admitted.
This move is less than fair to the IIT faculty.
Never have the IITs suggested that they want more students of any particular
caste. The JEE has many flaws but it is totally free of caste bias.
If the Prime Minister is really serious, let
him make at least one concession: Those students, whether admitted under relaxed
conditions or regularly, who are unable to cope with IIT standards, will be
allowed to be shifted to a less onerous course that may be called BE or B.
Tech. (Pass). That is the only way the standard of instruction to the really
capable students will not be hindered.
The IITs are finding it increasingly difficult
to attract competent faculty: By international standards, facilities are poor.
Even by Indian industry standards, salaries are low.
The only attraction the IITs offer is the
pleasure of teaching good students. If even that is removed, what hope is
there of IITs attracting competent faculty?
STRANGE SILENCE
During pre-Independence days, the legal community
systematically challenged the inequities of the British rule. But not one
of the successors of Freedom Fighters has cared to speak up for or against
the government's move.
Perhaps, they have not realised the true import
of what the government is doing: It has ordained that no institution - even
if it has no government patronage - can admit students free of caste bias.
Orwellian Doublespeak cannot go higher.
No citizen of India is now free to spend post-tax
income to educate children in a caste-free institution. The income may be
squandered on frills, on luxuries, even on concubines but educate children
in a casteless ambience, that is illegal.
If something is illegal, one may still do
it by paying a fine, or even by going to a prison. But this bar against casteless
institutions is absolute.
No fine, or even an offer to go to prison
will let a parent educate his/her children in a casteless school or college.
Even criminals have rights, but no parent
has the right to spend his/her own money to educate children in an unprejudiced
manner. The Government has shut the debate by pronouncing the "it has
decided".
Aurangzeb allowed a person to remain a non-Muslim
by paying the jizya. Our "secular" will not allow us even that much
liberty; we must accept the government's religion, we have no choice.
(The author is a former Director of IIT Madras.
Response may be sent to: indiresan@gmail.com)
