Quota in Promotions
There
is a lot of discussion these days on quota in promotion in government jobs for
SC/ST officers. The government has
promised to amend the constitution for this purpose. Every right-thinking person feels that there
should be effective affirmative action in favour of people who have been discriminated
against and oppressed for centuries. It
is the form of affirmative action that needs discussion. In my view, the affirmative action should start
much earlier in the life of an individual rather than at the time of her entry
into public life. It should start at the
time, or earlier than, she enters school.
She should be given free books, free hostel facilities, liberal
scholarships, special nutrition, special coaching, and whatever else is
necessary for her physical and mental growth. Special provision should be made
in the national budget for this purpose. May be she is given an extra year or two in
the school to acquire requisite academic competence. Above all, education authorities must ensure
that she does not suffer from any discrimination while at school, is allowed to
mingle freely with her classmates, sits with them and shares all the facilities
provided to them. The idea is that her
dignity as a human being is not compromised in any way and she faces her task
of learning with confidence. Such a
person would then be able to compete with her colleagues on equal terms without
any need for crutches like reservations.
At
present, however, SC/ST children suffer all kinds of indignities at the hands
of their classmates, teachers and society at large and get very little help
from education officials. They are
highly dispirited and suffer from a complete lack of self-confidence. Further, when she gets into a job or a
profession, reservations brings her the stigma of a ‘quota entrant’ and she
cannot face her colleagues with confidence and dignity, however competent she
may be at her job. The quota in
promotion will make life for her even worse.
She will always be a ‘quota promotee’ however good her credential may
be. She will not be able to command
authority on her juniors and the administration will suffer. The administration is already quite weak and
this move of quota in promotion will deliver it another debilitating blow. At the same time, merit and excellence will
be thrown out of the window, especially if OBCs also demand similar
reservations in promotions. The
non-SC/ST officers and professionals, seeing their hopes of promotion dimmed,
will become frustrated and disheartened and will surely spur exodus of highly
important skills to other countries. Due
to all this the country will suffer badly.
One wonders why political parties support this move. Surely, they are more worried about their
votes than about running the country well.
The
affirmative action outlined above is not divisive. It may be difficult to implement because the
government school system is itself in a big mess. The process is also time consuming and does
not yield immediate dividends to the politicians. But it can deliver the desired results
without causing any division and disharmony in the society.
Moreover, if economic backwardness, and not the social
backwardness, is adopted as the criteria for affirmative action, most of the
beneficiaries will remain SC/ST and OBC people.
However, it will be an inclusive criteria because even minorities, who
are at present out of the ambit of reservations, will be eligible for the
benefits of the affirmative action. But
would the politicians listen?
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