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Upper class quota in education

Politicians in power are prone to showering political bounties as the next election approaches and the Modi government is no exception.

Upper class quota in education


Politicians in power are prone to showering political bounties as the next election approaches and the Modi government is no exception. While some sops do not require diligent preparation, the 10 per cent reservation in higher education and government jobs for the economically poor strata of the general category does necessitate considerable backroom work. Even earlier, a Congress-led government had struggled to implement the quota for OBCs in education because of the absence of matching infrastructure in the form of adequate capacity in classrooms and enough faculty bench strength. The Modi government needs to avoid a similar logjam from plaguing the 10 per cent reservation for the economically weaker sections (EWS) among the upper classes.  

The test of the newly-minted law lies in its implementation. And, there is little time for trial and error, for the HRD Ministry has declared that the new rule be enforced from the coming 2019 academic session. This is a huge challenge, considering the constraints of funds, space and other infrastructure. Add to this the problem of faculty shortages and the inability of most institutes to retain well-qualified teachers, the concern of the quality of education imparted raises its head. All institutes of higher learning are expected to scramble to increase the student intake by 25 per cent so as to not disturb the system. As Central and state governments get down to the complicated process of laying the criteria for the country's over 900 universities and 40,000 colleges to enable the EWS to benefit from the new category of reservation, the worrying question of the really deprived sections being able to afford higher education remains. 

It seems that the practice of restive people churning social hierarchies in their bid to corner reservation as the solution for their problems is here to stay. Political leaderships of all hues unimaginatively granting them the same, as they gleefully eye the next poll victory, only serves to skim over the issue for the time being. A long-term solution to the vexed issue is still elusive. But the current crisis needs to be efficiently addressed. 

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