Hello everyone,
>
> Though most of you will be busy with exams, i find
> it ironic that
> the education system that is busy making all of you
> slog is morphing
> into one which will serve a death blow to the
> concept of merit.
>
> For those not clued in, the recent announcements
> from the Ministry
> of HRD have re-instated the provisions of the Mandal
> Commission
> recommendations of 1980 of reserving 27\% of all
> seats in institutes
> of higher education being centrally funded for
> OBC's. In effect,
> this alongwith the quota already administered for
> SC's and ST's
> ricochets the quota to a staggering 49.5 \%
>
> This act will come into being in institutions such
> as Delhi
> University, IIT's, IIM's and other prominent
> institutes on which
> India prides itself. To create reservations for 49.\%
> of the total
> seats completely undermines every notion of the so
> called "equality"
> it seeks to bring about.
>
> The concept of reservations in India has not worked
> for 50 years,
> and this guideline too is a more populist measure
> aimed at the "aam
> aadmi's" vote, while cutting away from the real
> reasons that foster
> an ever increasing urban-rural divide. Instead of
> focusing on
> increased infrastructure creation, strengthening the
> rural school
> systems and quality of education, creating trained
> manpower, cutting
> corruption and so on, the administration has instead
> played the
> reservation card yet again.
>
> Think about it. In the year 2006 itself, 49.5\% of
> the seats shall be
> reserved in DU. It is hard enough for a student in
> todays day and
> age even with 85\% to get into a good college. Now
> the chances, which
> were not too bright to begin with, are slashed by
> half.
> If you have a younger sibling who is giving his/her
> board
> examinations, or you yourself are planning to get
> into an IIM, you
> have a reason enough to be angry. Imagine what the
> situation could
> be 10 years from now when maybe your kids enrol in
> school.
>
> The next steps:
>
> CAMPAIGN AGAINST INCREASE IN RESERVATIONS
>
> I strongly oppose the proposed increase in
> reservations. This will
> serve a death blow to anybody's hope of getting into
> an institution
> solely based on merit. It completely undermines the
> very notion of
> equality. The country is doomed if merit and hard
> work are going to
> be ignored in favour of reservations based on caste.
>
> (YOUR NAME)
>