My beliefs have always been firmly against any kind of quota when it comes to admission for higher education. And no argument has made me even consider my opinion. And the recent declaration by the Supreme Court that an IIT cannot disqualify a SC/ST student on academic ground (which can be done for a General category child) only confirms my view that the education system is run by opportunist politicians and not learned men. And I hate the politicians so much that I want their whole species eradicated. Not one of them, none of them are without flaw.
When we talk of an IIT, we are talking of institute which has global recognition and high esteem. People consider the IIT graduates as men of knowledge. These graduates should be able to stand out from the normal crowd and do wonders. And every graduate realizes, though seldom acknowledges, that the expectations are much more from him compared to any other person.
But what is so special about these IITs ? Why do the graduates have an edge compared to the rest. Is it because of the professors ? Is it because of the infrastructure ? Is it because of the close association among like minded people ? Can any body given a chance ot study in an IIT become just as good ?
No doubt the professors are good. Not all of them can express themselves clearly, and some times we student get a feeling that a professor is not upto a level required to teach in an IIT, but when you work under them on a project you realize that their excellence.
At IIT we have been provided very well when it comes to infrastructure. Well equipped labs provide students a hands on experience of what he listens to in the class. Also the alumni funding helps. We have round the clock electricity, high speed internet which rarely goes down. A library with huge collection of books, and not to forget our LAN with no dearth of material shared for everyone to download.
The IITs admit students based on their performance in the Joint Entrance Exam(JEE). It is no secret that serious aspirants prepare for years to write this test. The questions are though provoking (though people remark that they have been becoming easier are more mechanical over the years), and only the best get through. There are cut-0ff marks in each subject and then an overall minimum required to be ranked. Only those with clear understanding of each of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics make through. So the overall IQ of students in the campus is quite high. And you realize this when you talk to them. You can always find like minded people and develop your hobby. From personal experience, I have met many computer geeks and learned a lot more about programming from them than any professor or course.
The system thrives only because there are such intelligent students residing in the campus. Now when you talk about implementing a quota system, you are diluting this group of students. One important point to mention is that if the cutoff for general category is say 100 in 300, then it stands at hardly 50 for the SC/ST people. This is the difference between a quota and a general category student. And it pains me.
I was standing in IIT M 4 years ago and considering what might I get for a rank of 404 after having scored some 130. And then besides me was seated a category student, with some rank of 10K’s in general category but some 20′s in his respective quota, and he was confident of studying CSE at IIT K. I got IIT Kgp CSE for a much higher score than that fool. And yet the fool went to K and I got only Kgp. Who the hell can reason out on his behalf that his getting K, and mine only Kgp was justified ?
I’ve heard enough of this giving chance to under-proviledged people nonsense. I have been at IIT 4 years and let me tell you, a guy whose foundation is weak can never hope to compete with others, whatever you do for them. If you are so worried about providing these people better education, then propose a system in which their schooling is improved. Provide them better education at school level, so that they can compete with the general category students at JEE. Don’t you make a lousy excuse of having a quota to make them better qualified.
This is all a political gimmick. Last year we saw the worst of it when Arjun Singh increased the quota to 49%. Had he the power to cross the 50% limit, he would have had quota for almost 80%, leaving the general category students to fight for the remaining 20%.
We see the flaw in the system when IIT D decided to expel a few SC/ST students on the basis of poor performance. Of course, a student who does not understand simple mathematics, who is highly uneducated to clear the JEE on par with a general category student cannot be expected to perform on par with them in an IIT too. Just because he has been admitted into an IIT, through a quota system, does not make him infinitely intelligent and capable in a day. He is still the incapable fool who could not clear the JEE exam.
But how did the IIT D matter end? Supreme Court intervened and has made a statement prohibiting IITs from expelling any SC/ST student on academic grounds.
So here we are. Thanks to our politicians, very soon we shall be seeing unqualified fools graduating out of the IITs.
If you are a supporter of the quota system, I beg you to just answer one question – A guy who does not understand mechanics, who could not pass the physics exam, how can he be expected to study Mechanical Engineering, understand concepts of stress and then graduate out to later design bridges or dams.
And for that matter, I am against quota in all fields. A person, who fails his biological exam, gets admitted into some reputed institute and goes on to become a surgeon (I am sure he will find quota at each step). God save me from such doctors.
No matter what argument you propose, the whole system of admitting students into higher education through a quota system is flawed. If you want these people to have better education, spend on their middle-school and high-school education. Provide them better opportunity to clear the 10th class and compete on par with the general category students in JEE. But a reservation of seats is a sorry excuse to get more votes.
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c*** u never know why reservation is necessary..
Quotas were implemented in the early years because there was a lot of discrimination among the people based on various factors. India has come quite a long way from there. Secondly, if you read carefully enough, I am against quota but in favor of education. If the sole purpose of quota is to provide an opportunity to a section of society that may have been wronged, then provide them such facilities at a more basic schooling level. Have them attend schools and develop into learned people. I am against reservations at a higher level. A person who is not good, is just simply not good enough. Remember survival of the best theory?And a final word of advice to you. Shouting or abusing does not make people hear you.