Increasing seats does not solve the problem of quotas

New Delhi: The government has been trying to reassure students by promising to increase the number of seats following its announcement on enforcing a quota for Other Backward Castes (OBCs) in institutes of higher education.

It is trying to work out a formula to accommodate the OBC category students without reducing the number of seats available to the general category. Estimates suggest that would require as much as a 54 per cent hike in seats.

Increasing the number of seats, especially in centres of excellence, is not an easy task. JS Rajput, former director of the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT), said the government should first invest on infrastructure.

"Before hiking seats, have more classrooms, teachers, hostels, labs etc. Otherwise it would mean compromising with the quality of education," he said.

Another issue is the increasing demand for higher education which means a requirement for more seats for the general category as well. It is estimated that every ten years there is an increase of 15 per cent in the number of students passing out of senior secondary schools.

The Human Resource and Development (HRD) ministry expects that this would double in the next decade.

Experts say this growing nation, with new opportunities in the wake of liberalisation and integration with the global economy, would need a hundred or 200 per cent increase of seats in institutes of higher education, particularly in disciplines like engineering, medicine, management, and information technology.

"There is a very minor difference in the marks of those who make it to IITs, IIMs, and MBBS and the next 3000-4000 students who don't. In the absence of enough seats in the centers of excellence, they are forced to take admissions in private institutes. Though private initiative in this regard is welcome, the government should think of hiking its own seats," said Col. Rajender Singh, registrar of Delhi IIT.

The pressure on the limited number of such seats currently available is already enormous. On an average nearly three lakh students vie for the 3890 seats available in the seven IITs.

This means 75 students compete for each IIT seat. About one lakh fifty thousand aspirants compete for 250 seats in each IIM. So even if the number of general category seats does not go down, the nation will not be able to train a large number of its talented youth, its most valuable resource.  

So what is the way out? Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has suggested to the government encouraging the private sector to build institutes like IITs.

Former Prime Minister VP Singh, the man who stirred the hornet's nest on reservation, is also of the opinion that avenues should be broadened now. He has suggested to Union health minister Anbumani Ramadoss that the number of seats in medical institutions be doubled within a year.

"The health minister told me this is possible," said VP Singh.

IIM-Ahmedabad spokesperson Ashok Shah, however, is of the opinion that the increase in seats may affect quality. "Limited seats make these centers of excellence unique. We would focus on quality not quantity. Only the best can survive," Shah said.

Professor Mushirul Hasan, vice chancellor of Jamia Milia Islamia University, feels that in higher education, the government should be prepared to increase funds and resources considerably and allow institutions to enlarge their infrastructure.

"You can increase seats only then. Otherwise it would add to the chaos," said Hassan.