Reservation policies — through merit or caste?

APRIL 2017 TOPIC: Should the reservation policy in the education and job sectors be through merit or caste?

According to me the reservation policy is an inconclusive topic. It’s a good consideration in the field of education and job for the backward classes get a chance to get educated. But the candidate should deserve the job. Reservation based on caste is a blunt but necessary instrument, because without this policy economic rise of the poor in India will severely be hampered. So it is a necessary evil.
Teena Soni (17)
St Patrick’s Vidya Bhawan, Jodhpur

Reservation policy should be strictly through merit! I don’t know why there should be this caste system?  It affects negatively those who work hard and get higher grades. It should be eradicated from the system otherwise the future generations will suffer.
Milan Patel
Saranthan College of Engineering, Tiruchirappalli

According to me the reservation should be on the basis of merit and not caste. Due to reservations based on caste, the deserving candidates are not getting the seats. I know a case in which one who got admission through cast based reservation policy gave up the allotted seats in premier institution in Goa just because it was not the institution of his choice, whereas another student had to struggle to get an admission even after qualifying in the merit list.
Agnes Pinto (19)
St Xavier’s, Mapusa

The reservation policy in the education and job sectors should be through merit. A child with a higher intellect deserves a better chance to develop himself/herself. Reservation based on caste will act as a barrier for the development of the intelligent. For any economy to flourish, the right people should do the right job. Therefore reservations based on caste system will act as a bane.
Garima Bakshi (18)
Government College for Commerce and Business Administration, Chandigarh

The very concept of “reservation” is fundamentally wrong. Because of it we are all in danger. Nowadays, going to a doctor is like trying one’s luck. Because the doctor could be one who got qualified in spite of poor marks instead of one who is adequately qualified for the job. Hence one goes through mental torture. There should be no reservation based on caste but only on merit so that those who deserve could be where they should be. Everyone should have equal opportunity.
Vrutti Adhyaru (21)
Patdi, Gujarat

Education is every human’s birthright and without work he cannot survive. In the current scenario, because of cast based reservation policy a candidate gets job or admission in a particular place, but a candidate who has the education and knowledge fails to get job or education. Again, is it fair and just that a person becomes the leader because of his cast and another person gets it only with his hard work, knowledge and talent? Who will lead the nation ahead better? I totally agree with the view that reservation policy in education and job sectors should be through “merit” and not cast.
Sonali Sharma (16)
S. D. S. College, Dahanu

Reservation started with a very good objective of uplifting the socially backward society. But people started misusing it. Students who put in the best of their efforts to make it in the merit list are disheartened, when they fail to get an admission in a good college due to reservation. Moreover, the reputation of the best institutes in the nation has been deteriorating due to admissions of candidates based on quota and not merit. The quality of professionals that IITs and IIMs are producing now is not up to the standards. This needs attention and it’s high time to change and make amendments.
Shweta Pranay Mhatre
ICLE’s Motilal Jhunjhunwala College, Vashi

Ideas on reservation did contribute to alleviate the socio-economic problems of weaker sections of society but never intended for reservations in educational institutions or job quotas. But the present day scenario reservations despise merit. Hence, we need to shift our style of functioning in educational system and job allotment criteria from ‘quotacracy to meritocracy’.
Kishore Kandi (20)
St John’s Seminary, Vizag

People should be given platforms on the basis of their talent, knowledge and abilities rather than on the basis of their caste. This is totally unfair to many students with merit. It is injustice to society, if we play with career of such excellent students. Why there is no reservation for army? Government should help people who are economically backward. Education should be fair with everyone. Education and job allotment should be based on the merit and shouldn’t be based on caste.
Kanika D. Muniyar (19)
Nanded Physiotherapy College and Research Centre, Nanded

Reservation is the termite making the future of our nation hollow. Instead of encouraging backward caste people to get educated, today reservation is used for political greed. People with less ability sit on important jobs while the better qualified ones are forced to stay at home. High level education should be provided to all but the selection criteria for jobs should be on Merit.
Krishna Sharma (12)
St Anthony’s Junior College, Agra

Though, reservation system is an evident discrimination, it was started with a very good objective of uplifting the socially backward in the society to give them equality of opportunities. But the way it is being used today, many might think that it is not serving the purpose for which it was commissioned. People have started misusing it. This deprives the more eligible candidate and gives their seat to a person belonging to a reserved category, though less eligible.
Hemakshi Kapoor (13)
St Anthony’s Junior College, Agra

In my opinion, possibility for knowledge and job should not be biased by the immutable caste and stagnant creed. Hard work, personal effort, constant adherence and full focus of the individual should be deemed as value based ideal. If hard work would be substituted with reservation in education and job allocation, it would be a dreadful reprimand for the laborious students and ghastlier retribution for those hard working students.
R. Ajay Kumar (20)
Jnanodaya Salesian College, Yercaud

Whether to have a reservation system in India or not, is a debatable question. There are many examples of people making false documents just to get a seat in a good college or for a job. With the passage of time the meaning of ‘reservation policy’ and the way it is implemented has stopped delivering what it was made for. So, I think the reservation system should be demolished from India by the government.
Simone Fernandes (12)
St Charles High School, Mumbai

India is a cradle of innumerable talent and intellect. Due to reservation and lack of jobs countless Indians with unmatched intelligence, ideas and working techniques migrate to foreign nations. And they contribute to the development of those nations. Due to this drain of talents, India still stays in the list of developing countries. Hence, in my opinion admission in education and job should be given strictly on the basis of merit.
Akshita Agarwal (19)
Agra

Well, I think it should be by merit and not by cast.  Of course reservation based on cast was necessary because of the cast discrimination and prejudices. But now, the cast system does not exist anymore. And even if it does exist, it exists only in the most interior places in India. They can find jobs easily even if they belong to a backward cast. In the present day fast growing India, where everybody dreams of becoming great, cast is surely not a hurdle.
Mithun B. Nair (14)
Little Rock Indian School, Karnataka

How does a person’s caste matter with his merit? Securing admission in a good college or getting a job should be purely based on merit. In a world where cast system has been almost eradicated, it is senseless to have a reservation policy. This can lead to discrimination. Students with great potential might be deprived of their seat in some prestigious college just because a person from the lower caste got the advantage of reservation. Today’s world judges you solely on merit, it doesn’t matter which caste/religion you belong to. It is only fair that colleges/jobs should select deserving persons.
Preethi Abraham (19)
Mumbai

I think in an era that is marked by demand for highly skilful, intellectual and educated students in the field of employment, reservation policy should not hold any place. As the current reservation policy is a hurdle for students, removing reservation policy will be beneficial for them. Aptitude test, lateral thinking and merit should determine avenues of education or job for students and candidates, so that resources may be rationally utilized.
Roopal Gupta (19)
Sophia Girls College, Ajmer

The reservation policy in the field of education and job-oriented areas should be based on merit and not on the consideration of caste or creed. Men and women are not born great, rather they become great through their good efforts. It is not caste but our merit that is important to change our lifestyle and do something unique. Human beings are born in the caste called ‘humanity’. Therefore, everyone should be considered as equal and should have the same opportunity.
John Surawat (20)
Dayalbagh College, Ujire