Bhargava for discontinuing reservation within 10 years

Bangalore, July 5 (UNI) Knowledge Commission Vice-Chairperson Dr P M Bhargava today favoured discontinuing reservation within ten years by progressively decreasing reservation and achieving the aim of providing education to all by 2020.

''In principle, I am against reservation. I would like to see a society where in equality exists. But having seen all kinds of discrimination right from the beginning of my life, be it at the hands of Britishers or the way society treated people belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, I feel reservation should be there to uplift these oppressed classes...However, you cannot have reservation both in education and jobs,'' he told newspersons here.

Dr Bhargava, who earlier disagreed with his Chairman on the Centre's move to bring in a Bill to provide 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in higher educational institutions, said he had discussed this issue with Union Education Secretary Sandeep Banerjee. Stressing on the development of proper infrastructure to help the deprived sections of the society, he said the number of seats at the institutions should not be decreased, but they should be given an year's time to develop proper infrastructure. The number of seats should be increased so that meritorious students' admission is not affected and at the same time OBCs too got an opportunity.

Dr Bhargava suggested the annual income limit of Rs three lakh for OBCs, to be eligible for reservation should be reduced to Rs one lakh as the higher income limit would help the financially sound to take advantage of reservation.

He suggested that besides bringing in reservation, the Centre must concurrently announce setting up of four lakh Central Schools or Navodaya Schools throughout the country. Since education was a concurrent subject, the Centre should fund these schools.

Taking strong exception to educational institutions collecting capitation fee, Dr Bhargava said the Government should pass a Bill, banning commercialisation of education, as it was disastrous.

Appealing to the Centre to revamp the country's education system, he said there should be a continuous process to study the student's intelligence. Internal assessment could be adopted instead of three-hour examinations, he added.

UNI MSP GD CH RK1915