 "Anandiben Patel")
Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel last Thursday announced a slew of benefits to students from low-income families, especially those who fall in the unreserved category.
With the announcement of the Rs 1,000 crore scheme, the Gujarat government believes it has placated those agitating for reservation, especially the Patidar community. The announcement coincides with the agitation losing some of its edge.
Hardik Patel, the 22-year-old leader of the agitation for reservation, was criticised recently by the Gujarat High Court for filing for habeas corpus and then delaying appearance before court. The two leading Patidar groups have also resorted to less aggressive protests like urging the community to sign a representation and initiating a protest movement against the government package.
Meant for students from families with annual income of Rs 4.5 lakh or less, the government scheme offers subsidies for education, books and hostel charges and raises the age limit for government jobs. Students from poor families will receive a fee waiver up to Rs 2 lakh a year for admission in self-financed medical colleges, up to Rs 50,000 for engineering colleges and 50 per cent up to Rs 10,000 for bachelors degrees in arts, science and commerce and other courses. They will also receive a one-time assistance of Rs 3,000-10,000 to buy books. The scheme has raised the age limit for entry into government service for the general category from 28 years to 33 years, and from 33 years to 38 years for the reserved categories. The state government will set up of training centres in all districts for civil service examinations and other government jobs. It will add 600 medical seats.
Educators and political analysts say offering scholarships to bright students is not what the state needs. The Admission Committee for Professional Courses estimates of the 71,799 engineering seats in Gujarat 27,000 are vacant and of the 10,360 management seats 7,691 are vacant.
"The scheme fails to address skewed admissions. While medical, engineering and management seats in urban centres are full, seats in rural areas go empty. Colleges in rural areas hardly find students because of the lack of job opportunities," says Ritesh Hada, managing director of United World of Business, an Ahmedabad-based education group.
The scheme may have appeased some but Hardik Patel and Lalji Patel, leaders of the two major agitation groups, have said it was not in their list of demands. The government and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have made it clear they will not give into the demand for reservation.
"The Supreme Court's 1992 judgment makes it clear that a state government cannot offer reservation. There is a commission created for it and they should approach the commission," says IK Jadeja, the BJP spokesperson in Gujarat.
"Upper castes may benefit, particularly those who score high marks. But the sense of deprivation among Patidars will remain. The scheme does not address this issue," says Achyut Yagnik, founder-secretary of the Centre for Social Knowledge and Action.
According to Yagnik, there are three issues the scheme barely attempts to address. "Admission to professional courses is difficult. Quality government jobs are lacking. Private industry has not been able to create the employment that is required," he points out.
Arun Sarin, faculty member at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, says the issue in Gujarat is a lack of supply of "good quality education and jobs". "The changes the scheme is attempting are superficial and may have only a distributional effect," says Sarin, adding that quality education is also missing in schools.
Hada feels the scheme should have announced measures to improve education and employment in the rural parts of the state. Gujarat Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia believes the scheme should have been broadened to include students scoring first class.
NOT ENOUGH?
What the Rs 1,000-crore scheme offers:
n Fee benefits for merit students who scored 90 percentile and above
n Students from families with annual income of up to Rs 4.5 lakh to benefit from plan
n 100% fee waiver to general category meritorious students for admission in self-financed colleges
n 50% or up to Rs 2 lakh yearly fee waiver for admission in self-financed medical colleges
n 50% or up to Rs 50,000 yearly fee waiver for engineering and other professional courses
n 50% or up to Rs 25,000 yearly fee waiver for diploma engineering courses
n 50% or up to Rs 10,000 yearly fee waiver for BA, BCom, BSc, and other courses
n Hostel allowance of Rs 1,200 per month for 10 months
n One-time assistance of Rs 3,000-Rs 10,000 for general category students for buying books
