The governor of Tamil Nadu approved a Bill introduced in the state assembly last week, effectively reserving 7.5% seats in medical institutions for government school students. This ‘game-changer’ Bill, as many have called it, got the governor’s nod in less than a day.
This affirmative action did not receive notable dissent from the opposition or academia, as it is expected to help many rural and poor students realise their dreams of becoming a doctor. But from a metric standpoint, the practicability of this course of action in solving the issue is questionable.
In November 2019, the Madras high court observed that only 2% of students obtained admission through the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) – a national-level examination for students who wish to study medicine – in medical colleges across the state without the aid of external coaching.
The jury discerned the state-provided statistics shocking. But taking this data into account, it is irrefutable that a vast majority (98%) have to seek external coaching to secure their medical seats regardless of the type of school they attended. Needless to say, only deep pocketed upper/upper middle class can afford such private tutelage. This very fact is counterintuitive to the notion that the implementation of the Bill would benefit the poor students of government schools eventually. The Bill does nothing but put forth a pipe dream for economically weaker students.
There is no gainsaying that the competence of private coaching centres in preparing the students to face national entrances is very high compared to government schools. But the Bill is a neat shortcut to placing the role of government schools at a position equal to that of efficient coaching centres. The government didn’t foresee the nascent threat this poses to students who come from economically weaker sections of the society. The implementation of the Bill will create an upsurge in vying for seats in government higher secondary schools, especially due to the limited availability of seats.
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In this scenario as well, the economically sound will have an upper hand as they are simply capable of availing facilities to tackle the situation. And poor students, who are bound to the ramifications of this, race will eventually be left with two options – either to drop their studies, or to join a private school. And the latter is very unlikely. This is how the newfound solution, the Bill, will boomerang.
Another concerning is the arbitrary hastiness in its execution. With the 2021 state elections ahead, the incumbent government found it important to act in accordance with a popular sentiment, and hence, they made sure that there was no delay in implementing the horizontal reservation. Considering the history of reservation in India, it is systemic that affirmative action once implemented is seldom withdrawn. And due to this very reason, the Bill concerning students of the nation must have undergone a thorough study. But it seems the government found it rather easy to use it as a swift and myopic election tactic.
On the brighter side, one can hope the Bill might have a potential positive impact on the quality of education provided by the state. The Bill can beguile a huge number of prospective medical aspirants to join state government schools and this could default play a pressure tactic in the improvement of quality of education.
But there was no necessity for affirmative action to achieve this goal. A government could have managed to create the same upshot, by implementing proper educational policies and fruitful investments over time and could have saved the repercussions of this course of action. But as the government now has an election to win and only few months left in its tenure, this affirmative action is indeed a ‘smart plan’ to woo some voters.
Jyothsna Nc works as an editorial admin for an international science journal.
Featured image credit: PTI