Bangalore: The National
Knowledge Commission, in principle, holds that affirmative action could
help students overcome problems of opportunity in higher education.
The commission aired this view on reservation, according to sources,
in the context of higher education. The commission is holding a three-day
meet on issues relating to governance and higher education.
“Prefactory
remarks were made at the meeting late in the evening (Sunday) on affirmative
action. Everyone, in principle, agreed to the same. It is only on a
broad scale that the remarks were made,” the sources said.
The sources
observed on a cautious note: “No one is against it, but members realise
that affirmative action is a complex issue that needs to be examined
in detail. They realise that affirmative action needs to be discussed
in relation to serious issues such as social justice, quality of education
and excellence. There are differences between members of the commission
on the issue and the differences need to be resolved. Discussions will,
therefore, continue to resolve the differences. Only a broad view on
the matter has been expressed”.
The form
and content of affirmative action and what it actually entails in terms
of government policy and private support is still in formulation as
discussion is still on. It is, however, clear that the commission discussed
the issue of reservation only as part of higher education.
The meeting on Sunday
featured Jayati Ghosh, P M Bhargava, Nandan Nilekani, Sam Pitroda, Ashok
Ganguly and Pratap Bhanu Mehta.
The talks
focussed on issues relating to higher education like pay scales, university
structures, autonomy, politicisation of education, quality of teaching
and the like. Issues relating to school, vocational and professional
education were also discussed.
On Saturday,
the discussions were one governance and processes of governance and
formulated recommendations to be submitted to the Prime Minister. The
recommendations will be released on Monday.
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