Article on the current reservation debate....

Dear Friends:
Last week I visited my village school in Andhra where I did my schooling. It is now telugu medium school. I was told that unlike in my srtudent days the school is now filled with SCs, STs nd BCs. I was happy to find that there is education facility for a large numebr of them. I was however quite pained to see the extent to which caste distinctions have percolated into the minds of the teachers there. When I probed further it turned out that FCs don't send their children to the same school because it is telugu medium and they spend money to educate their wards in the English medium schools. It seems that the distinction begins there and poverty that prevents good education affects there and not in my view after graduation. Because finacing is avaialble more easily for IIMS and IITs. If only our government spends the same money for providing good education for the SC, ST and OBC children at school level in place of putting up new campuses for IIMs it may increase the choices of several hundreds of the back ward communities and other poor people. In my view this is affirmative action. I have given in the enclosed article my professional arguments for such an affirmative action for those interested. Thanks you for your attention. Prof. T. V. Rao Ex-Professor, IIMA

*Alternatives to Reservations in Higher Education* T. V. Rao Former Professor IIMA, Chairman TVRLS *"
The proposed reservation policy of our government is like "searching for the gold we lost at a place where there is light, and not at the place where we lost it". Assuming that there is merit in OBCs it should be searched at the place where it was lost and not in IIMs, IITs and AIIMS and other higher educational Institutions" *

Today we are living in globalized world. Competition is not any more with our-selves (not within India) but outside India (with other countries like China, USA, Europe, and all other countries). If we are able to get the attention of the US and most other nations have become friendlier to us and are looking forward to do business with us it is because they see talent in our country and the same is promoted by the talent from IITs, IIMs and scientists, Doctors, Engineers and Technologists and other Professionals. It is professionals from higher educational institutions that are running the race and are keeping our flag high and getting a good name for our country. If MNCs, Consulting companies and big organizations from the US, Europe and other countries are preferring Indian Graduates from IITs, IIMs and other Engineering colleges and technical institutions and Indian Doctors are making a mark it is because of the quality of education and institutions we have.

Today India is respected across the world because of our investments in Science and Technology education in sixties and early seventies. In today's world competition requires high level professionals in Science (including space, environment and health sciences), Technology (including IT, appropriate technology, nuclear and other higher forms as well as technology appropriate for development), Management, and Design etc.

The paradox to note is while Indian talent is gaining a lot of respect thanks to the contributions of IT, management and other professionals, the reputation is selective and is emerging. It is not complete. The world is watching us. India as a country and as a whole does not enjoy good reputation in the world.

Look at our Human Development Index where about 127 countries are above us in terms of their HRD! In spite of it if foreign industry and investors are coming to India it is because of IITs, IIMs and other higher educational institutions and the quality of education they offer. Our PM knows this well. As the main person behind the South Commission's work nearly a decade and half ago he articulated well the relation between economic development and human resources development.
The committee headed by Sam Pitroda in early nineties had come up with a ten point program for the Commonwealth countries which was adopted by the Heads of Commonwealth Governments in 1994 during Mr. Narasimha Rao's time. The recommendations made in the document called "Foundation for Future" suggested a number of things for development through HRD. They include the following: If any country has to develop economically its human resources need to be strengthened. HRD is an essential foundation stone for Economic Development and at the same time Economic development is necessary for HRD and the linkage is not automatic.

The program also envisaged that the fruits of economic development have to be orchestrated to ensure that economic development leads to human development and it further results in human development. Society cannot develop beyond a point at the cost of some. As rich become richer it is their duty to ensure that the poor also get uplifted. In the past some people born in certain communities have been denied by virtue of their birth the access to education and other infrastructure which has pushed them to remain poor. They may be large in number. The denial used to be on the basis of caste and community. 50 years after independence if we are still finding that some sections are denied such exposure and opportunity, it is an important imperative that such anomalies are corrected. However, you don't want to correct the anomalies by slowing down those who are earning for the country and keeping the talent and competency flag high.

Asking the country to slow down to accommodate a few has the danger of striking at the very root of growth. This makes some of them understandably angry, especially because they see that there are better alternatives. Can't we let them run the race while at the same time creating other races to bring up those who are talented and did not have adequate opportunity to demonstrate their talent? At the same time it is also the responsibility of those who are fortunate enough to have such access to education and other infrastructure to do their bit for those who are less fortunate. Keeping these points in mind we need to think of alternatives; I give below some of them to ensure that people don't remain backward for ever by virtue of their birth (be it in a BC or FC, OBC or SC or ST, LSE or MSE, LDC or MDC)

1. *First we need to get our statistics right. A lot of what we do is beaded on assumptions. * How many times our political parties have not made mistakes by making wrong assumptions of the vote banks? We need to get our statistics right. We need to get them right and it is here we need to ask right questions. It is high time we ask questions like how many are not getting access or opportunity and why? Not just assume that OBCs don't get opportunity. It does not matter where those who don't have access come from? How does it matter if it is a Brahmin or an OBC or an SC who doe not get access? Treating some who get access more favorably than others by virtue of caste or religion or community is itself discrimination.

Such lack of access is not any more created by God but it is created by our insensitive governments and fellow human beings who did not care provide access and provided such access for fifty years only for some and not for others. It is these statistics that can give a lot of food for thought and dictate future course of action.

1. * Invest in literacy. * Make every one literate. There should be no caste and community limits here. Literate parent will make their children better educated.

2. *Invest in primary and secondary education by providing access to all. * It is here those are well off has the responsibility to ensure that all are provided access to education and focus can be on all those who are denied access to education by virtue of their birth (in my view caste or community does not deny access to education but what denies access is economic considerations of the parents, and the place of birth – distance from the near by school and the irrelevance of education for their livelihood)

3. *Invest in the girl child and empower the women as educated mother educates many more. * Special schemes are required. It is quite possible that women from all communities irrespective of if they are OBCs or SC/STs are being denied access.

4. *Invest in science and technology and provide quality of higher education. * Interest in science has substantially declined in the last two decades and our country is going to face the disastrous consequences of this in the next fifteen to twenty years as it takes about thirty years or more to reap the benefits of investments in science or the negative consequences of not investing on the same. Our president recognizes this well and that is how he is trying his best to promote science.

5. *Make government to think entrepreneurially. * (For example AICTE should give up their control mind set and put their efforts on multiplying educational institutions rather than discouraging educational institutions that are offering quality education by asking for compliance to bureaucratic norms and delaying recognition. Reservation issue is one case where the government has thought bureaucratically similar expanding management education through IIMS to other countries is another instance of bureaucratic thinking than entrepreneurial thinking). Government should encourage innovative ness at least if by itself can't be innovative. This expectation is high with people like Sam Pitroda, CNR Rao and such other stalwarts at the helm advising the government.

6. *Promote NGOs to come up with innovations and work at grassroots levels to develop alternative models of development* and show ways to government

7. *Invest on environment and infrastructure*

8. *Build capability at village levels by using low cost technologies that enhance quality of life, health and longevity * How do we do this?

1. *Provide access to education for all. * When Tsunami had ht Sri Lanka one management school suspended all its regular course and for six months all the students took it up as project work the reconstruction of all those who were hit by tsunami. This was done by the post graduate institute of management headed by Dr. Nanayakkara who is now the Vice chairman of the UGC in Sri Lanka. All students of management schools and Higher education institutions should undertake projects in which they may go to rural areas and teach children and provide access to those who do not have access. Students are the best teachers. They may enjoy a lot of participating this reconstruction of India. Those who can't do this can provide some support to fund education access for those who don't have access.

2. *Abolish caste and community based reservations. * Examine the admission test procedures. I don't rule out the possibility that admission tests are biased against the poor. There is a lot of controversy around the validity of tests. The tests are loaded with mathematical reasoning and language ability. Build simultaneously the mathematical ability and communications kills of all those who are less fortunate to have urban exposure and English medium schools. Prepare students of the lower socioeconomic (includes the OBCs if they are covered by the same)

If these are discriminating those who did not have any accessibility start specialized institutions for them with a slightly different curriculum. In the case of an airline that ahs been finding it difficult to recruit cabin crew of their quality, they took all those that have failed in the test and provided a three month training for them. They charged them a small fee also and then discovered that these candidates made better cabin crew than those recruited in the first round through competitive examinations. Hence the idea of providing special training to those who are unable to make it through regular channel can be trained by additional methods than through reservations

3. *We should expand the IIMs and IITs and create other institutions of quality. It is not appropriate to simply add seats in these institutions *. This needs to be done carefully. These institutions should be encouraged to help other institutions rather than merely enhancing the numbers.

4. *Conduct a nation wide survey to determine the extent of backwardness or deprivation of access to education* (primary, secondary and tertiary education) of all people by virtue of their caste or community or religion or geographic location or sex. Start institutions that address the nature of deprivation. For example if the nature of deprivation is due to affordability and it is not linked to caste or community the provision should be made to enable them to afford. If the deprivation is due to lack of information and communications don't even reach then this needs to be corrected. Access can be provided by stating institutions at proximity and at affordable fee than to simply providing blind reservations.

5. *If there are to be reservations they should start at the school level and into English medium schools. * Most of the people including the OBCs can't afford English medium education. Hence if any reservations are needed t is at the school level and not for higher education. If Talent does not show up by the end of school years at best the Government can give some special education and wait for latent talent development. Train, Train and train until the time talent shows or we give up.

6. *But pulling down merit and denying opportunity to talented people is killing the nation and all that has been built up in the last few years by great leaders* like Dr. Sarabhai, Ravi Matthai, Narayan Murthy, JRD Tata and others builders of the nation. *Major tenets on which our recommendations have to be based:*

*Talent is every where. It is in abundance in our rural areas and also in the urban poor and among all those who do not have adequate access to education and other social infrastructure. Those who get good education and access to the same from an early age through good education (through English medium schools or such other quality institutions) get spotted and have more easy access to higher educational institutions of repute. Such access is no more dependent on caste or community but more on the affordability and accessibility. Therefore it is important to make quality education affordable and accessible to all from an early stage and not merely for those who are able to afford the same because they are already rich enough to afford. *