Affirmative action in IIT ENTRANCE EXAMINATION !
The affirmative action proposal, that seeks to pick girls over boys in the IIT entrance exam if their scoresare tied, is a step in the rightdirection. Encouraged by the human resource developmentministry, the IIT Joint Admission Board would do well to institutionalis e this policy. There is no denying that admission to engineeringcolleges in the country is lopsided. This is best exemplified by the IITs themselves where women only form 10% of the total student intake for undergraduate programmes. In fact, such a bias has conditioned girl students to treat engineering as a secondary choice of subject for higher studies. Neutralising the overwhelming dominance of men in engineering is vital to break this stereotype and promote the cause of gender parity in the workplace.
It must be noted that the affirmative action proposal under consideration is quite different from reservations. The latter impedes meritocracy by favouring below-par candidates. Unfortunately, the IITs are already hobbled by such cons-traints. However, the girls favoured under the newproposal would not be lackingin academic merit, as they would have obtained the same score as the boys. Hence, the argument that the policy will further undermine meritocracy in the IITs doesn't cut ice. In fact, this principle could equally apply to favour men in those fields of study that see an overwhelming majority of women - let's say Montessoriteachers' training programmes. Other things being equal, diversity is a value that institutions and workplaces should aim at.
Women's emancipation demands that women aren't locked into gender-specific career choices. The latter amounts to continuation of patriarchy. By instituting the affirmative policy, the IITs could incentivise more girl students to take up engineering. This in turn will enlarge the overall talent pool.
It must be noted that the affirmative action proposal under consideration is quite different from reservations. The latter impedes meritocracy by favouring below-par candidates. Unfortunately, the IITs are already hobbled by such cons-traints. However, the girls favoured under the newproposal would not be lackingin academic merit, as they would have obtained the same score as the boys. Hence, the argument that the policy will further undermine meritocracy in the IITs doesn't cut ice. In fact, this principle could equally apply to favour men in those fields of study that see an overwhelming majority of women - let's say Montessoriteachers' training programmes. Other things being equal, diversity is a value that institutions and workplaces should aim at.
Women's emancipation demands that women aren't locked into gender-specific career choices. The latter amounts to continuation of patriarchy. By instituting the affirmative policy, the IITs could incentivise more girl students to take up engineering. This in turn will enlarge the overall talent pool.
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