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| Reservation
sting has stung the Higher Education |
Arunima
Mishra
Today, fifty-nine years after
Independence, while India has
been faring remarkably well
in the global economic market,
Indian universities are falling
behind in the global market
place of ideas.
If one would dig the history
of high education in India,
the major obstacle would be
the implementation of reservation
and its aftermath.
The system has become a dirty
world of corrupt politicians,
criminals and opportunists who
can do anything to grab or retain
power. However, the integrity
of the country lies in the hands
of vote bank politics in the
present scenario.
The average quality of India's
higher education has been falling
steadily behind the world average.
As a matter of fact, we may
be outsourcing our brains, but
we are far from educating them
to its optimal best.
Every citizen is entitled to
the best possible basic education.
This is not available at present
though we have made the provision
of primary education as a fundamental
right. Enrollment is still poor
and there is no let- up in drop
- out rates as well.
In the era of commodification,
education has turned to a profitable
activity. Gone are those days,
when education and employment
came together in the ideal of
a career. However, today is
the world of multiple carriers
and periodic upskilling, leading
to satisfy the life long demand
of a person.
In an increasingly merito-cratic-technocratic
society, university education
is the gateway to enter any
public sector. We need to provide
quality primary education in
rural and remote areas where
a large number of students drop
out of school at an early age.
Once these inadequacies are
taken care of, then there will
be no need for quotas.
Cast based reservation is of
no use in the present set -
up. India has become a place
where caste and communities
alone will determine merit.
Here the question arises - in
this scenario, what is more
desirable? Reservation which
is a short term solution or
revamp of the education system?
Regrettably, there is no provision
of reservation for the economically
backward among the forward castes.
No one can predict the future
of the bulk of the poor among
the so called "forward communities".
A reality check on the discrepancies
of utilisation of quota is relied
on.
The first Indian universities
to appear on the list of 'World
University Rankings' are the
IITs at number 57, followed
by the IIMs at number 68. The
Jawaharlal Nehru University,
is at 183rd position in the
top 200, while its equivalent
Australian Counterpart, the
Australian National University
ranks 16th. India's lingering
on global bench marks will definitely
affect its march towards 'Vision
- 2020'. Globalisation, the
term which is accepted in every
sphere not only creates winners,
but losers too. |
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| Development
at the cost of life: do we want
this? |
Siddhartha
P Saikia
Orissa is going through a "steel
revolution". In the past
three years, the state government
has signed more than 40 MOUs
with companies, both domestic
and foreign. POSCO India, a
subsidiary of the South Korean
steel giant, signed a Memorandum
of Understanding (MOU) with
Orissa in June 2005, to set
up a 12 mtpa steel plant near
Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district
of Orissa, with investments
to the tune of $12 billion.
A total of 4004 acres of land
has been marked for the steel
works at Kujang Tehsil near
Paradip, out of which 3556 acres
(89%) is government land and
438 acres (11%) is private land.
POSCO have been given prospecting
licenses or direct lease for
mining over a total area of
about 2000 hectares in the range
This venture opens up the inevitable
debate of development versus
displacement. Orissa figures
in the underdeveloped and has
not made any real progress or
development. However, the question
that arises is what has POSCO
brought to the Eastern Indian
states, to bring about the revolution?
A global boom in the steel market,
which is growing at the rate
of more than 4%, and the global
race for cheap labour and raw
materials are two most significant
factors. The investment will
allow the Korean company faster
access to the port required
to ship coal, iron ore and steel.
In addition, according to their
recent developments, the Government
of Orissa has recommended Special
Economic Zone for POSCO India's
project. The SEZ aims at an
investment of Rs.45000 crore
and net foreign exchange earnings
of $42 billion is expected over
30 years period. About 25,600
direct jobs and more than 30,000
indirect employment opportunities
will be created.
Despite the rosy picture on
paper the realities of displacement
is gloomy. For the proposed
project in Jagatsinghpur, the
initial acquisition notice was
for 3,556 acres of government
land in the Kujanga Tehsil,
which will displace about 300
families in five villages. The
livelihood of thousands of people
will be affected who depend
on fisheries, betel vine, paddy
and cashew crop if plant is
to be set up there. POSCO has
already announced a package
of Rs.500 Cr. for 200 households
in Jagatsinghpur, but the number
of affected people will be larger
in number. The plant includes
845 acres of forestland. There
are communities who are living
there for more than 30 years
but their land rights are yet
to be regularized. On
the other hand, the company
is proposing to build a port
at Jatadhari, which also evoked
concerns of damage to the
coastline and also the nesting
habitat of the endangered
Olive Ridley Turtle, giving
rise to intense opposition.
These
protests have raised the fundamental
questions relating to industry-induced
displacements on one hand
and to the government's commitment
to promote the interests of
the corporate world. The fate
of the people in Jagatsinghpur
cannot be predicted in a state
like Orissa.
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