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Medical students restart anti-quota stir

      New Delhi: Intensifying their stir against reservation in private medical colleges, students of medical colleges of Delhi decided to restart their protest on Friday against the Centre's proposal to increase reservation for backward castes in higher education institutions. Protesting medical students gathered at the Lady Hardinge Medical College in the heart of the capital and said that they were awaiting a suitable response from Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh, failing which, they warned that they would intensify their agitation. Students, interns and junior doctors from University College of Medical Sciences, Maulana Azad Medical College, Vardhaman Mahavir Medical College, Lady Harding Medical College and All India Institute of Medical Sciences are participating in the protest.

     On April 27, students of five premier medicals colleges suspended their agitation after Singh promised to talk on the controversial reservation proposal once the assembly elections were over. The process of assembly elections in four states - Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam, West Bengal and one Union Territory of Pondicherry concluded with the final counting of votes on Thursday. Striking students met Singh on April 27 and their representatives Sujit Shukla and Anirudh Lochan had said, "We have not called off our strike. We are only putting it on hold till May 12 and we hope the minister will meet us as per the assurance he has given to us". The issue of reservation was not for a single person to decide, the Cabinet will take a decision, Singh had said, adding he will meet the medical students before taking the issue to the Cabinet after consulting the Prime Minister for doing so. The agitating students have been demanding a "roll-back" of the government's proposal to reserve 27 per cent seats in central institutions for backward castes. The government plans to make 27 per cent reservations for other backward classes (OBC) in 20 central universities, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences that will take the quota to 49.5 per cent.

Medicos, police clash at PMO

      New Delhi: With the May 12 deadline given by Delhi medicos on the controversial reservation issue coming to an end on Friday, hundreds of students from top medical and engineering colleges of New Delhi resumed their stir, which later turned ugly when protestors and police clashed here today. Hundreds of protesting students clashed with police as they tried to force their way towards the Prime Minister's Office to submit a memorandum. Police used water cannons and fired a few rounds of teargas shells at the students to disperse them who had assembled in the India Gate lawns after marching through Connaught Place from Lady Hardinge College. Shouting slogans against Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh, who has proposed to reserve seats, students marched in the peak summer sun against what they said was a "grossly unfair" move. And as the students, who appeared to have no charted-out path, walked on one of the busiest market place - Connaught Place -- in the capital, traffic came to a complete standstill.

   The students earlier also had been involved in a scuffle with police, when they tried in vain to march to the residence of the Human Resource Minister recently. But after a meeting with Singh later, they announced they would wait for the completion of the assembly elections for an assurance from the government on the issue, as the government, bound by the model code of conduct during elections, could not make any decision at that time. Singh's proposal for additional reservation for socially backward classes, which when implemented, would take the total quota of reserved seats in the country's top engineering, medical and business schools to 49.5 percent. At the moment, government-funded colleges have to allocate about 22 percent of their seats to the lower castes, and Singh also wants private universities to be brought in the ambit of the scheme. Quarters against reservation say the move, if implemented, would deny meritorious students a fair chance at getting good education. On the other hand, pro-reservation group leaders said lack of quota would deny chances to many. Reservations in the country, where about 60 percent of more than a billion people live in rural areas with little access to good schooling and few well-paid jobs, is a sensitive political issue. The constitution of India provides quota for education and jobs in state funded organisations for socially backward castes and tribes, initially for 10 years but the system has continued, with more and more castes being added to the list each year.

Kalam for raise in educational seats

      New Delhi: With rising debate over the issue of reservations in the elite academic institutions like IIMs and IITs, President A P J Abdul Kalam today called for increasing the number of seats in the higher educational institutions to cater for the requirements of the country`s knowledge industry. "The Indian youth faces the twin problems of provision of quality education to a large number of people, that means in institutions of higher learning such as engineering, medical and specialized sciences. We have to ensure that a large number of seats are made available. This mission can be achieved by the public-private partnership," said Kalam in his inaugural address at Grassroots Summit. He pointed out that India has 540 million people under the age of 25, which would continuously be growing till the year 2050. Expressing concern over the increasing problem of unemployment in the country, the President called for making education system entrepreneurial oriented. "Education system has to become entrepreneurial oriented, both in schools and colleges, so that we can create employment generators and not employment seekers," said Kalam. He set a target of a 14 per cent increase in the throughput of the higher education system by 2015 from its existing six per cent. It should be 30 per cent by 2020 and 50 per cent by 2040, Kalam said, adding those left out in the higher education system should be skilled qualitatively in areas such as carpentry, electricals, paramedical, paralegal and computers. The President underlined the role the media can play in analysing welfare issues facing the country and delivering their possible solutions to the masses.