Weeks after the announcement of the 10% quota for the economically weaker sections (EWS), the procedure for its implementation—that is, if a planned procedure actually exists—has still left institutions feeling mystified and wrong footed.
The ambiguities in the act range from funds to the availability of sufficient teaching staff; not to mention the doubts that arise regarding the purpose and efficiency of such a scheme. And in the midst of all this, the private institutions are still trying to understand their precarious position, while the actual problem still remains unresolved.
1. Infrastructure
One of the most obvious problems is the lack of infrastructure—or the lack of enough time and resources needed to erect the suitable infrastructure.
The MHRD has calculated that an increase in 25% seats would suffice to accommodate the new scheme, without disturbing the pre-existing SC/ST/OBC quotas. Not only one is unsure about the accuracy of such a figure, but also completely clueless about how the government reached such a figure in the first place. Keeping this doubt aside for the time being, lets focus on the current predicament, i.e. infrastructural development required to implement the 10% EWS quota.
An addition at such a large scale would require new classrooms, labs, accommodations, supplies and what not. It all sounds so overwhelming on paper, that expecting the institutions to meet such demands in reality is like a fantasy.
Not to mention, the duration at hand is short. The scheme needs to be implemented in the span if two years, and March 31 is the deadline for the institutes to come up with their respective roll out plans.
14,000 seats are to be added to the existing 55,000 in the undergraduate programme of Delhi University alone. “Where are the classrooms and teachers to manage the additional load?” asked a senior university executive, bringing to light the second major issue.
2. Availability Of Teachers
Availability of quality faculty at such a large scale in such a short time is another unachievable target at hand. With the sudden rise in number of students, the teacher-student ratio, which is already not very flattering, will degrade further, hampering education.
“The challenge to recruit and retain quality faculty will multiply,” said the dean of a deemed university from Tamil Nadu.
Universities are already in a strained situation when it comes to teaching staff. DU itself has been struggling with the 4500 ad hoc teachers who were employed to meet rising demands, as they continue to protest and demand regularisation.
“We don’t have enough resources to deal with the current student intake. When the current student intake had increased in 2008, with the OBC reservation infrastructure and additional teaching hands were promised to the university and neither of these promises have been fulfilled in their entirety,” said Saikat Ghosh, a member of DU’s Academic Council and assistant professor at the university’s SGTB Khalsa College.
3. Funds
Funds are the ever-present obstacles when it comes to government schemes, and this case is no exception. The highest on the list of concerns is, who will pay the fees?
One must realise that the very basic fact behind the scheme is that the students are poor and, hence, will struggle to pay the fees.
“Either the government subsidizes it (higher education) or through some other source, they would have to subsidize it. I don’t think that can be done in such a hasty manner because then the finances need to be arranged. If you plan to expand 50 percent (quota) by next academic year, how are you going to do that?” asked Gitanjali sen, a professor at SRM University.
In fact, the original proposal which was moved by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment stated that the government will have no financial burden for the scheme, and that the institutes are supposed to fulfill the financial requirements from the revenue generated from the added seats. This proposal was later approved by the Union Cabinet on January 7.
And even if the government allotted around 4600 crore for the execution of EWS scheme and HEFA in the interim budget of 2019, it is still not clear how much of it is actually allotted to the expenditure for the 10% quota for EWS.
Also, private institutions have found themselves on very precarious grounds considering the fact that they do not receive aid from the government.
4. Private Institutions
President of the Association of Self Financing Arts, Science and Management Colleges of Tamil Nadu, Ajeet Kumar Mohan expressed concern over the matter. “The government cannot pass on the burden to private institutions. We have to invest in infrastructure, laboratory, chemicals etc. So, the government has to give EWS candidates some kind of scholarship like it does in the case of SC/ST quota,” he says.
The HRD Minister’s proclamation that the scheme would be applicable to the private institutes too, has left many alarmed and concerned about the quality of education that strive to maintain.
“Private sector institutions which are not taking a single penny from the government, they are surviving on the (basis of) quality of education they are offering. Suddenly imposing 60 percent quota for different categories on private sector universities and institutions will not be an easy task,” said Harivansh Chaturvedi, Director of BIMTECH.
The displeasure of the private institutes can be expressed in a statement given by Gauri Satish, who is an advisor to the Telangana Private Degree and PG College Managements Association. “There is no clarity yet. Also, there are some organisations that are approaching the Supreme Court against the reservation,” he said.
And even if the ministry is the process of drafting a separate bill with regard to the EWS quota in private institutions, we cannot help but be apprehensive about it as there are several other matters undermining the credibility of the scheme.
5. Wastage Of Seats
One such factor is the difficulty that relatively less reputed colleges face when it comes to filling their seats. While there is cut throat competition for seats in the top colleges, others are left to struggle to even fill their seats for completion of one academic session.
“Increasing the seats will only benefit 5-10% of colleges. The rest are struggling to get admissions for the existing intake itself. In the case of Tamil Nadu, barely 20-25 colleges will benefit. For the remaining 475 colleges, increasing the intake will not be necessary,” said T D Eswaramoorthy, secretary of the All India Federation Of Self Financing Technical Institutions.
6. Technical Loopholes
And not to forget that in the midst of all this, there is still no proper mechanism in place on how to determine who will be considered among 10%. Identifying the beneficiaries is in itself a difficult, making sure that malpractices and forged admissions do not take place is a task at another level altogether. And by now it should be no surprise that the quality of higher education will suffer immensely.
The whole purpose of reservation was to erase the boundaries that divide our society and bring them together by the means of providing necessities and opportunities of employment and education. However, what governments past and present have been doing is using this policy to either gather votes or solidify differences. The problem faced by the poor and unprivileged is the lack of facilities and capital and financial provision, something that still remains unaddressed and unattended in the entire elaborate plan of EWS.
Crores on a new and well-executed scholarship scheme would have made for a more efficient, useful, and hassle free move, to provide a stop-gap solution while a step-by-step plan to expand the capacity in higher education was drawn, than this 10% EWS quota which is just leaving people sceptical.
And let’s not even start with the timing of the decision, which is so conveniently close to the elections.