Critics Slam India's Education Quotas

Kannan, Shilpa. 29 April 2008. Critics Slam India's Education Quotas http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7371752.stm

Rebecca, I, too, am following the reports coming out of India regarding the census as it relates to the caste system. Here is an article that gives life to this ancient tradition - institution, really - of casting.

As Indian students prepare to take entrance exams for various professional colleges, the stakes are becoming increasingly competitive. Students are asking themselves, "Will performing well on these tests be enough?" See, the Supreme Court of India upheld an affirmative action program, reserving nearly half of the seats at the country's top government-funded schools for members of the lower castes (note: This is a 2008 BBC article.) The ruling was enforced immediately, starting June 2008, in some of India's most elite universities. This program/ruling raised the total caste-based educational quota to 49.5%. This article examines the effects of the ruling for different types of education institutions as well as what this means for the hiring practices of India's private sector.

This is a fascinating example of how one policy decision creates implications for several institutions and social sectors. Lest we think the U.S. is immune to similar debate, I can tell you, after working in graduate programming for one of the U.S.'s most prestigeous university, we are not. This school set aside certain seats for the recruitment of other nation's students. So, 2 seats were given to U.S. students, entering one particular graduate program. Two seats for Chinese students. Two seats for Indian students. And, so on and so forth.