New Delhi: There is no end to protests against the hike in quota for backward classes. But what is getting more and more interesting now is the form of protests. From cleaning roads to getting their heads shaved off.
But what is the government doing? Well yesterday a promise was made after a CCPA meet that the number of seats in top educational institutions will be increased. But now there is a question mark on that.
Not just that, the HRD Minister Arjun Singh is even not willing to commit himself to any kind of a time frame for hiking the quota for backward classes.
But as his government looks for the middle path on the reservation issue, he is saying there's nothing time bound about it.
The Minister is looking to deflect criticism on the quota issue by increasing the number of seats. But many are wondering whether that is actually possible. That's because there's a crunch on the infrastructure front.
Documents with CNN-IBN show among the IITs:
- Delhi has a sanctioned faculty strength of 583 but only 418 positions are filled
- Kharagpur has only 470 of the its 667 sanctioned teachers
- Roorke's has the worst ratio just 345 of the 575 teachers it can hire
- The IIMs are better in this regard than the IITs but even then only IIM Lucknow has as many teachers on its rolls as sanctioned
- Calcutta has only 74 of the 87 sanctioned professors
Professor M V Rajeev Gowda, Associate Professor, IIMB says, "Attracting talent in academia, even at institutes of repute like ours is quite a challenge. Private sector offers much greater rewards. Not just a question of increasing seats but attracting faculty."
While the Centre tries to cobble together a solution that pleases everybody it may well end up as a political solution that does more harm than good if there aren't enough teachers, classrooms or hostel seats.
With inputs from Deepa Balakrishnan in Bangalore and Bhupendra Chaubey in New Delhi
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