The Wikipedia definition of Affirmative Action is really quite simple
In India the practice of reservations (the Indian equivalent of affirmative action) in Government schools , colleges and jobs has been mired in controversy and bitterness for decades. The recent move to introduce reservations based on economic status in addition to caste based reservation has created a new dimension. In some ways this goes against the spirit of the original plan for the uplift of people who had suffered discrimination due to the caste system for centuries. On the other hand, it acknowledges the reality of poverty even amongst the upper castes.
In the early '70's when I was a student at IIT Kanpur, the institute started taking in a few scheduled caste candidates. These students had a severe handicap partly because the medium of instruction was English. They had to take remedial classes for a long time before they could comprehend what was going on in the classroom. In addition, since entry standards were relaxed for them their ability to cope with the curriculum was very poor. The IITs also suffered on account of a drop in brand image and perception as top quality institutions. In all respects, the idea of opening up premier institutes of learning to such practices hurts both the students that it tries to help as well as the institutes themselves.
In my view the practice of reservation as carried out in India since independence is a lazy government's easy way out.
If we are serious about creating a level playing field the starting point is to ensure that high quality school education is made available universally. After that, individual merit will take a young person to the best colleges where scholarships and tuition waivers can be made available to needy students. Thereafter jobs will need no reservations as all applicants will be evaluated on merit alone. Let us examine how we have performed as a nation in the critical area of school education.
India is a young country.
34% of the population is of school going age. This corresponds to over 400 Mn children (Census of India) who should have access to high quality education. This includes about 288 Mn upto class 10 and the balance upto Class 12.
To service these huge numbers, India has an estimated 14,65,000 schools:
As can be seen from the above table, the vast majority (76%) are Government run though they account for only 60% of the enrollment. Government run schools are therefore smaller than their private counterparts.
(in the context of the allocation of resources or employment) the practice or policy of favouring individuals belonging to groups known to have been discriminated against previously; positive discrimination.
In India the practice of reservations (the Indian equivalent of affirmative action) in Government schools , colleges and jobs has been mired in controversy and bitterness for decades. The recent move to introduce reservations based on economic status in addition to caste based reservation has created a new dimension. In some ways this goes against the spirit of the original plan for the uplift of people who had suffered discrimination due to the caste system for centuries. On the other hand, it acknowledges the reality of poverty even amongst the upper castes.
In the early '70's when I was a student at IIT Kanpur, the institute started taking in a few scheduled caste candidates. These students had a severe handicap partly because the medium of instruction was English. They had to take remedial classes for a long time before they could comprehend what was going on in the classroom. In addition, since entry standards were relaxed for them their ability to cope with the curriculum was very poor. The IITs also suffered on account of a drop in brand image and perception as top quality institutions. In all respects, the idea of opening up premier institutes of learning to such practices hurts both the students that it tries to help as well as the institutes themselves.
In my view the practice of reservation as carried out in India since independence is a lazy government's easy way out.
If we are serious about creating a level playing field the starting point is to ensure that high quality school education is made available universally. After that, individual merit will take a young person to the best colleges where scholarships and tuition waivers can be made available to needy students. Thereafter jobs will need no reservations as all applicants will be evaluated on merit alone. Let us examine how we have performed as a nation in the critical area of school education.
India is a young country.
To service these huge numbers, India has an estimated 14,65,000 schools:
| No of Schools in India (FICCI/E&Y Study) | |
| Government | 8,18,000 |
| Local body/muncipal | 3,09,000 |
| Private aided | 1,57,000 |
| Private unaided | 1,81,000 |
| Total | 14,65,000 |
As can be seen from the above table, the vast majority (76%) are Government run though they account for only 60% of the enrollment. Government run schools are therefore smaller than their private counterparts.
Clearly, the onus of school education in India lies squarely with the Government and this is where we have miserably failed as a nation. Anyone who has been to a Government school will know that infrastructure is pathetic, the curriculum and text books are outdated and full of errors and most importantly teachers are either absent or if they do come to school at all they spend the day in gossiping and drinking tea. As for the quality of teachers, the less said the better. In many ways the Government school system is a microcosm of the pathetic state of most Government run enterprises, be it the Railways, the healthcare system, the Public Sector, Air India or any of the myriad enterprises that the Government claims to run.
The tragedy is that while the rest of the shebang can carry on, poor school education saps the energy of the nation. Without it the country rests on a very weak foundation. In fact the much touted 'youth bulge' or 'demographic dividend' is fast becoming a liability rather than an asset.
What needs to be done? I have the following thoughts:
- We need to have a dynamic and dedicated Minister for School Education. A person like Atishi Marlena of the AAP has made a significant difference to Delhi schools. Similarly, if the country is to progress, we need a dedicated, relatively apolitical leader.
- In the '70s, the Government had handed over the distribution of Nirodh to 6 private companies. Hindustan Lever, ITC, Brooke Bond, Lipton, Tata Oil Mills and Union Carbide. The scheme was a huge success with vastly increased volumes of the contraceptive becoming available in the remotest areas of the country. Similarly, I would recommend that the responsibility for running Government schools should be handed over to the private sector with a clear division of geographical territory. Instead on 6 companies there should be many more with smaller, more focused areas of operation.
- CSR budgets of companies should be earmarked for school education in addition to government budgetary allocations that are already available.
- School education in Government schools should be entirely free and universally available to all citizens. Private schools will coexist but the objective would be to make parents actually prefer a Government school education for their children as is the case currently in many parts of the developed world.
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So true, Debu. Your observations have captured the essence of how the education system works in Haryana. We have been experiencing these challenges in the last few years since our association with schools, and securing admission for children. The system is not corrupt, but highly inefficient, unorganized and unproductive. I sincerely hope someone, somewhere will realise the importance of ffecient education at grass root levels and take corrective actions.
ReplyDeleteThanks Seema, the whole problem with the government is misplaced priorities. It's so easy to create reservations and a vote bank. It's far more difficult to work at the grass roots like you do and actually make a difference to the country. However that is really the only solution.
DeleteI agree with your write-up in its entirety. In my opinion, the policy of reservation and sops for the SC/ST/BC/BT communities (as they were called then) since independence has been flawed throughout. Both Ambedkar and Nehru had intended that reservations would be only for a limited period, the aim being to ensure that these communities should eventually become economically strong, get a level playing field and not depend on such sops. However, over the past 70-odd years, reservation is not only being used as a vote-bank creator, but has also become the "birthright" of the SC/ST/BC/BT communities. More importantly, there is no denying the fact that the benefits have hardly percolated down to the really deserving economically weak amongst these communities, but have gone mostly to the "creamy layer". In other words, most of the really downtrodden continue to remain downtrodden.
ReplyDeleteSo, has the reservation policy thus far really achieved its objective?
The "Right to Education" (RTE) Act is nothing but an admission by the government that its standard of educational institutions is woefully below par and that it has failed miserably in providing quality education to the have-nots in society. It has therefore now resorted to forcing private schools to admit children from the economically weaker sections of society. However, these children are very likely to suffer discrimination from their peers and will be handicapped because of language issues. As a result, they will in all probability, end up with a severe inferiority complex, much to their detriment. Thus, they will still not be able to absorb the education imparted in these private schools. Therefore, objective not achieved.
My take is that the central and state governments, their agencies, NGOs, social workers et al should take cognizance of the inherent skills and talents of these communities and hone such capabilities for their betterment. If they are good at agriculture, then give them land, seeds, saplings, farming implements & equipment and help them in marketing their produce. While basic education up to 10th or 12th standard is essential for all without exemption, coercing the unwilling into higher education may not be of the essence. This is because their interests lie elsewhere. (There are exceptions of course).
I would like to illustrate my case with four of my experiences.
1. During the 70s, when I was in degree college in Hyderabad, there was a chap in my class who belonged to the discriminated caste. He was a notorious character who indulged in college politics, always targeted, threatened and intimidated the above average students and led a band of his ilk against the upper caste students. As expected, he ended up as a dropout. However, owing to his status, he easily secured a bank loan and set up a kirana store and thus made his livelihood.
My point is that the college degree seat was wasted on him and could have been given to another deserving candidate who had the aptitude. But as his talent lay in trading, it is a very good thing that he got a bank loan to start a kirana store. Only, this should have happened immediately after his basic schooling (10th or 12th standard).
I have even seen many medical college students of the discriminated caste who either drop out midway or just about scrape through with pass marks and end up as village doctors, no better than quacks. Similar is the case with engineering students of the discriminated caste.
The lesson from this is, by all means impart basic quality education to all under the RTE Act. But, do not entice or force them into further education unless they have an inclination or aspiration and the aptitude for such further studies. Instead, find out where their talents lie and hone their skills accordingly and incentivise them so that they make a decent living and work towards developing their progeny. In my view, vocational training is of the essence in such cases.
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ReplyDelete2. During the mid-70s, I came across a strange character in Nizamabad, Telangana, who was a rural school teacher in a village called Pitlam (in Nizamabad district). I used to visit Pitlam every month and have seen that school, which was housed in a small dilapidated building that had no lavatories. There were a handful of village children loitering about the place as there were no teachers or a school head present. I later came to know that the school staff absented themselves for most part of the month.
The character I referred to above was actually temping as a clerk in a bank in Nizamabad and would go to Pitlam only during the first week of the month. He boasted to me that he would beat the children to discipline them and would hardly teach them anything. Then, when the officials from the Block Education Office would visit the school, he would collect his salary and head back to Nizamabad to continue temping with the bank. Needless to say, this character belonged to the discriminated caste.
In contrast, I have also seen a rural school at Chennakotapalli, near Penukonda in Ananthapur district, Andhra Pradesh (close to the Karnataka border) run by a social worker called Babalu Ganguly. While this outfit called Timbaktu Collective is hard up for funds, Babalu and his team are doing exemplary work in teaching the economically backward village children by providing primary education along with a whole lot of extra-curricular and co-curricular activities.
The lesson from this is that government schools should be handed over to reliable NGOs and social workers for administration and imparting knowledge, while management and funding of these institutions should be handed over to private sector companies as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities.
3. In Visakhapatnam, I came across another weird character called Joseph who was a no-good nik and a slacker. One day, after some years, I bumped into him at the dockyard office. When I said, “Hello Joseph”, he furtively and hurriedly ushered me out of the office and pleaded with me not to call him Joseph for he was known as Sudhakar in the dockyard, having got a job there as a lower division clerk on reservation basis.
Thus, he was enjoying the benefit of both worlds – as a convert, he got benefits from the missionaries, and as a member of the discriminated caste, to which he originally belonged, he got largesse from the government.
This aptly illustrates my point that the reservation policy at all levels is flawed and is being misused.
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ReplyDelete4. When I was in the process of setting up my garment-making unit on the southeastern outskirts of Bangalore, I visited three government-run schools in the area to get the names of children – primarily girls – who had either passed out or had dropped out. My intention was to provide training in tailoring (vocational training) to these children so that such skills would help them make a living. Thereafter, I went house-to-house in search of these children, spoke to their parents and convinced them to send their children to my unit. Most of these children were just over 16 years old. I took them on a stipend and trained them for over a month. When they developed confidence in handling the high-speed sewing machines, they were put on tailoring jobs and over the next 2-3 months they became adept at their work. This made them skilled workers and they were regularised and paid wages as per labour laws and rules.
One 16-year-old girl, who was the daughter of a poor truck loader, picked up the work so well in a short time, that I soon started giving her more difficult tasks on special machines along with increments in wages.
But then, within a year, her parents got her married, even though she was a minor, and she gave up working. The groom was an out-of-work, drunken mason, many years older than her. No NGO, social worker or government agency came to her rescue.
In retrospect, I feel I did her a greater service than the government, her school, the NGOs, the social workers and, in some ways, even her own parents. The government provided her reservation that turned out to be of no use, as she dropped out of school and her family continued to be exploited by various vested interests and continued to live in poverty and misery. Her school did give her the basic education and she did have basic reading and writing abilities as also some knowledge of arithmetic. But that wouldn’t help her much in getting on with her life. I doubt if the NGOs or social workers ever helped her family in any way. They were nowhere to be seen when she got married as a minor. Her parents did her the greatest disservice by getting her married when she was under-aged.
I, on the other hand, taught her a skill, which she could always depend on to make a living. I think I can unabashedly say that the skill training I imparted to her far exceeds what the government, the school, the NGOs, the social workers or even her own parents did for her.
Given my aforesaid experiences, I am bound to agree with you that the government has failed miserably in imparting basic quality education to the have-nots. I also fully endorse your four-point plan of action to remedy the situation.
Handing over management and funding of government schools to the private sector corporates as part of their CSR is an excellent suggestion. When these corporates have been roped in to maintain parks, traffic islands and even police stations, they can very well take a bigger step by adopting a government school each. The day-to-day administration and teaching can be handled by reputed NGOs. This should be for the benefit of all economically backward people regardless of caste, creed, race, religion, language or any other criterion.
As you rightly put it, such strategies worked on with conscientiousness, scrupulosity, diligence, perseverance and sincerity of purpose by all concerned should bring about the desired results for the next generation, if not the present one.
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ReplyDeleteGood information. Thanks for sharing this blog.
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