In this post I will try to put forward my views on the current crisis Indian Education sector is facing, what is the government trying to do about it and what it is not doing.
First of all the government seems to be too complacent about the quality of higher education. It believes in using the already established names than creating new ones. Its something like selling all the sports shoes in India by the name Nike. This is not a very good idea after all we all know the difference between the Rs.100 tennis shoes I used and the Rs.3000 tennis shoes Nike provides. Of course unless until we want IITians to be omnipresent, like God. But, then one also has to make arrangement (of teachers and facilities) so that all IITians have God like properties.
Why do we need reservations in higher education? Isn't primary education that must be given importance and the higher must be left for the student to work hard and secure admission to. If quota is all about giving opportunity to people who have not got it then primary education is it. Not higher education. There must be scholarships for meritorious students and based on needs, not quota. Imagine how would a student feel if he sees his classmates doing well and he is struggling; either he will work hard or he might have some mental problems. But, if he were to work hard he would have done it earlier. All, you would be doing is spending lot of money on resources then
Arjun Singh wants to open up more and more IITs in the country, the question is, is it really going to help anybody or its just a political stunt to get the votes. I personally believe Arjun Singh wants to give a feeling that he is trying to provide quality education to many people. No matter how noble his intentions may be, the question is will he be able to provide quality education? I think he is mislead by the idea that India is lacking only good institutes of higher education, little does he realize that India does not have qualified teachers (after all good teachers are a must for good institutes). There are only a few places which provide quality education that can be compared to the best in the world. IITs have lost there position in the top 200 universities in the world (in 2007 each IIT was ranked separately). I really do not think that Arjun Singh is doing anything to get or create good quality teachers to India. He has only made things worse by introducing the quota system for the faculty position at IITs, TIFR, IISc and BARC, another Times of India article can be found here. The directors, students and alumni of these institutes have protested the rule but we will have to wait and watch.
These acts remind me of the forward that I had recieved sometime back. If he were the sports minister he would have introduced reservation in the nationals teams too (as it would be really hard that to implement if in the cricket team first. He would have tried other sports). If he becomes the Civil aviation minister he might reserve 40% of the seats in Air India and Indian for the SC, ST and the OBC.
I really hope that the quota is not implemented for the faculty.
6 comments:
Once you accept reservation in one area (student admissions, govt jobs, or train journeys), the same arguments are applied to all other areas, by the supporters of the quota system. It is difficult to defy them if you have already accepted it in some other domain. Although the jokes are funny, it can very well be the reality soon, to have quota in the hockey team.
It would be actually interesting to see what students and would-be faculty from SC/ST/OBC want. A sane candidate may want facilities, but possibly not the opportunities at the cost of someone who is worth more.
I do not agree with your argument - that's ones its implemented in an area the same argument holds for all..because you might have reservations for the handicapped people in few government jobs but handicapped people will do no good to be a part of the Indian Armed forces. And the same is the case here..If you are a good teacher it does not matter to which caste or religion you belong to you will be a faculty at IIT. But, since you are from SC/ST/OBC and you might somehow teach does not make you deserving for a faculty position at the best colleges in the country...
Another question I must ask what if one got admission to an IIT through quota should he be allowed to use the quota in the faculty to become a faculty there? After all he has already used the opportunity ones by becoming a student and that's what quota is all about. It should not be like a trump card that you keep playing every where and still your trump card never seems to exhaust...
Quotas were introduced in the system to improve the social status of the backward classes. But quotas have not helped and have become a debatable topics which divides the country in lenth and breath.
Goverment is running without a vision. they want to errect buildings but they dont plan to make institutions.
Quality of education is bound to be going down and that day is not far when the IIT's and the IIM's would become only for Backward classes and all students who want good education would land up in good private colleges.
Govt now is not for the people by the people and of the people. it is for the vote, by the vote and of the vote
Well said Saurabh. But, I disagree with the fact that private colleges are doing well. There is no innovation. But, yes there would be fee hike every year and the intake will increase.
There is a difference between what the private universities (Stanford, MIT, etc...) in US do and what private universities in India do. There is just no comparison.
And if you think that collaboration of Indian universities with foreign universities is good then you are wrong. In the first two years when you need to learn you are in India and when you can do something the student goes to the other university. Indian universities become some what like teaching universities for the one abroad no research done in India.
Well, I agree with your point that it is the primary (basic) education which needs to be strengthened. If you look at the situation of basic education in the country, it’s just not sufficient. If the basic education of a child is good, he/she would be in a position to take charge of his or her future and can compete in the world. I feel the government should concentrate and work at the grass root level if it really wants to empower specific communities and not use them as vote banks. Providing quotas in IIT, NITs and IIMs etc will just not help; in-fact on the contrary is a dangerous ploy and can have grave consequences for the society at large. I think the current scenario is like cutting the branch of tree on which you actually are sitting!!
Arjun Singh is hell bent on destroying the country's future... Reservation should be given to economically backward classes and not based on caste... but then there is too much corruption involved and I wouldnt be surprised ppl paying bribes to get economically backward status...It is a complex scenario..
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