Most of us associate merit with the marks a particular candidate scores in an entrance examination or board. Is this measure true? Can a student who has studied in rural India with no coaching centres be compared to a student in a metro with the best of educational facilities? It is not just the calibre of the student that accounts for the performance in the examinations; it is also the support he gets on the way that determines the scores. Hence we should not use the scores as the only way of judging a student’s calibre. Providing equal opportunity to all students but at the same time restricting the argument only to premier educational institutions like the IIT and the IIM is also not fair. What about schools and centres of primary education? Economic status determines the admission of a child to a school. Even in colleges I do not see activists protesting the “sale” of college seats in the name of “paid seats” across the country. Why should only rich kids get the opportunity to study? Students too, on their part, must introspect on how best to contribute to the nation that has helped groom them into better individuals with a sound educational background. Often those who study on government subsidised loans end up flying out of the country for greener pastures or joining organisations that do not in any way help in improving the current state of affairs in the country. We can all make a difference by helping the nation build on its educational infrastructure for the sake of our future generation, irrespective of caste or economic background. Paying tax is not a favour we are doing to the government. It’s the cost we pay for demanding a certain standard of living.
Farzana Z Nigar
Pune, Maharashtra
