Is Reservation System a Boon or Bane for India?

While the so-called reservation system was introduced with the intention to uplift the backward and the underprivileged classes of the society, today it seems to be the main cause of the degradation of the Indian Education System now. Earlier, the backward classes were denied the basic rights, so initiating such quota system was absolutely necessary for that time. However, the whole scenario has changed now. The people have started misusing this caste reservation system and getting the benefits. Whereas on the other hand, the more eligible candidates belong to the unreserved category or the general ones are getting denied.

The major reason for starting such quota system for the backward classes was the weak financial background and lack of basic amenities. And the other upward classes had both so they were able to access good education at that time. So, in order to fill the gap and match the levels, this quota system was started. But now many backward classes having the tags of Scheduled Class (SC) or Scheduled Tribe (ST) or even Other Backward Classes (OBC) have plenty of good resources, amenities and better financial background for which they do not need to apply for the quotas. While the general category candidates who are financially weak due to any reason are no longer getting any benefit from the government. People have started creating fake caste certificates showing themselves belonging to the backward classes in order to gain such benefits from the quota system.

The students from reserved categories can get seats in engineering or medical colleges even by scoring less numbers but the general category has to score more in order to get the seats. When the entrance exams are same for all the candidates then why not the selection procedure. The students bagging seats under the reservation system get selection very easily and due to lack of skills they become unable to tackle the course curriculum due to which they quit in the middle of their courses resulting which many seats get wasted. This selection criteria have been following from past many decades. With the passage of time, everything is getting changed but this reservation system is still here.

Such reservation system is not present in any country of the world except India. In fact, in 1969 the UN (United Nations) hosted the ‘Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination’ which states ‘The principle of equality sometimes requires States parties to take affirmative action in order to diminish or eliminate conditions which cause or help to perpetuate discrimination prohibited by the Covenant’. Canada has employment equity system, United Kingdom has Equality Act 2010, United States has Affirmation Action, in short no other country then India in the world has caste-based reservation system.
It is true that the reservation system is good for the society and yes, it must be implemented and carried on in India. But it should be based on the financial background of the students and their families not on the basis of someone’s caste or creed which ultimately perpetuates racial discrimination.