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Question of Merit in Reservations Question of Merit in Reservations Friends, Those who find solace in believing that the competitiveness of Indian Industry would suffer a set back if SC / ST / OBC are given Reservation in "Private" Industry, may kindly read the following reports. "MERIT MY FOOT" by V.T.Rajshekhar p. 31 says: Read what Justice Krishna Iyer of the Supreme Court says in the ABSK Sangh case (1981) "Trite arguments about efficiency are a trifle phoney. ... We are not impressed with the misfortune about the governmental personnel being manned by morons, merely because a sprinkling of harijans and Girijans happened to find their way into the service. The malady of modern India lies elsewhere, and the merit monger are greater risks in many respects than the native tribals, and slightly better off lower caste. .. The fundamental question arises, as to what's 'merit' and 'suitability'? Elitists, whose sympathies with the masses have dried up, are from standards of Indian people, least suitable to run the government and least meritorious to handle the state business. ... A sensitized heart and vibrant head tuned to the tears of the people, will speedily quicken the developmental needs of the country... Sincere dedication and intellectual integrity - these are some of the components of merit and suitability- not a degree from Oxford or Cambridge, Harvard or Simian. Unfortunately, the very orientation of our selection process is distorted and those like the candidates from Scheduled Castes whom from their birth, have a traumatic understanding of the conditions of agrestic India, have in one sense more capability than those who lived under affluent circumstances and are callous to the human lot of the sorrowing masses." ibid. p. 33 Justice Chinnappa Reddy of the Supreme Court says, (The Myth of Merit and Efficiency- Dalit Voice January 16, 1987) "There is no statistical basis or expert evidence to support the assumption that efficiency will be impaired if reservation is continued or if reservation exceeds a certain percentage or reservation is extended to promotional posts." ibid. p.37 Justice Chinnappa Reddy of Supreme Court said (in the Railways case 1881) "Therefore, we see that when the posts ... are reserved ... to members of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other socially and economically Backward Classes it is not a concession or privilege extended to them, it is in the recognition of their undoubted fundamental right to equality of opportunity and ...and to secure to all its citizens, justice, social, economic and political and equality of status and opportunity ... to ensure their participation on an equal basis in the administration of the country ... Every lawful method is permissible to secure the due representation of SCs and STs in the public services." For those who feel that Private Educational Institutes are also admitting the students on "merit", the following report may be illuminating. Indian Express Page 1 Anchor Report July 2, 2004 Merit is subjective, check the list SHAILESH GAIKWAD MUMBAI JULY l MERIT should be the criteria for admissions, said a Supreme Court order in September 2003. So, are private medical and dental colleges in Maharashtra following the SC directive? That's open to interpretation. To begin with, this year the merit list for an entrance test conducted by an association representing unaided private medical and dental colleges is totally at odds with a similar list based on an entrance test organised by the Maharashtra Government. The same students appeared for both entrance exams, but the results are very different. Students who topped the merit list of the entrance test organised by private colleges did not fare well in the entrance test conducted by the government This despite the fact that both exams had the same format and literally an identical syllabus. For instance, Ashish Pokharkar who stood first in the Private colleges' entrance test, was placed 35th in the government one. The second topper, Suraj Gandhi, stood 413th in the government test. Barring Rita Tapadia, who, stood fourth in the private colleges' test and 14th in the government one, most of the top rankers in the private college list fell way behind in the government test. What was the reason? "Even one mark makes a difference in competitive examinations. But you cannot justify this while talking about the tests conducted by private colleges," said former pro-vice chancellor of Mumbai University Naresh Chandra. With regard to carrying out merit-based admissions, private colleges do not enjoy much credibility. However, the managements of these colleges insist that their merit list was not manipulated. "The criteria was different for government and private tests. That can be the reason for the difference. I cannot comment further till I tally both the merit lists," said Sagar Meghe, who runs Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College in Wardha near Nagpur. The directorate of medical education has passed the buck. "If anyone has complaints, he should approach the Committee under Justice Cazi appointed by the High Court to monitor the admission process. It is an appropriate forum to seek redres-sal," said director for medical education W B Tayade. "So far, I have not received any complaints," Justice (retd) A A Cazi said when this paper contacted him. He said the procedure was smooth this year. However, the committee would definitely look into the cases if it receives complaints, he said. Kamal Kishore Kadam, chairman of the Association representing private colleges, said he would be able to comment only after going through the merit list of both the tests. "The tests were conducted in a different manner than the government test. It is possible that the students who scored well in our CET could not score much in the government-held test," he said. For those who are unaware of the dignitaries in Maharashtra, let it be known that both Sagar Meghe (BJP) and Kamal Kishore Kadam (Congress) are Education tycoons and the latter is in the list of runners for Chief Ministership after the Elections, now in progress. Some thoughts on "Women's Reservation Bill" would follow in next week. Thanks! Dr. K. Jamanadas October 9, 2004 ---------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.773 / Virus Database: 520 - Release Date: 10/5/04 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] |