Comments on: That Old Bogeyman: Market Forces

By: Dr. Prahalathan KK

Dr. Prahalathan KK — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 09:40:58 +0000

Though the politicians are palying only to the vote banks…
Education should never be left to the force of the people who wanna make money out of it…
The Government is not suited to monitor it either…
Non Profit Universities.. stuff like that

By: kuffir

kuffir — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 21:06:41 +0000

prashant: no, i don’t think it’s okay for government to set quotas in private sector companies. it tickles me no end to think how it’s going to manage that. and i think(this is an opinion) the ‘quota classes’ are doing quite okay outside (than inside)the public sector which endorses the principle of ’social justice’. it’s a pity no one has done a study on this.
when it comes to education these classes definitely do need a certain degree of support. and i don’t think this entails the narrowing of opportunities for others. let me illustrate this: there are over 80,000 seats in ap’s engineering colleges and admission to these colleges is through an entrance test. going by the trend of the last few years virtually 90% of applicants are assured of guaranteed admission. the only purpose of the quotas now is to ensure that the reserved class students pay less fees than others. and in the case of the scheduled tribes/castes students the deficit is made up by the government.
i know the situation is quite similar in the other southern states and,perhaps, the rest of the country. the only people who could possibly develop a grouse here are the managements of those few private colleges who reckon they can ’sell’ their seats at a higher price. and mind you, these are very few because the government-subsidised seats in every college ensure that even colleges with the worst kind of infrastructure and quality of services(these colleges are usually started with only a bare minimum of the resources required) are assured of survival!
do you understand why i fail to see the need for the sc’s intervention here?
we have a buyer’s market now and socially disadvantaged candidates are also being taken care of. is
it necessary that the chant of ‘down with quotas’ be taken up even when there are no quotas as understood earlier ?
there might might never have been, and perhaps, never will be a just society. what’s more reasonable to expect(and to build) is a society that’s clearheaded and even-handed.

By: Prashant Kothari

Prashant Kothari — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 14:44:06 +0000

kuffir, Surmizer

Do you think it’s OK for the government to dictate quotas in private sector companies? If not, how is it OK for the government to set quotas in private sector colleges…

By: Surmizer

Surmizer — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 08:09:44 +0000

Amit,

I tend to differ on this.

*Regulation* might be a improper word to use. I have seen how much this quota system works in providing oppurtunities for deserving students. I have recorded my resoning here on why this step cannot be equated to government hindrance.

I totally agree that comparing private professional colleges with *market forces* is way off. Any private enterprise will prosper with the proper value proposition that meets a requirement of a consumer who can afford it. A private professional college in the current setup with its management quota alone will just enable undeserving consumer (who can afford) with a requirement and serve that requirement. It will not meet the requirement of a section of consumers who actually have the requirement and more importantly, deserve it.

Thanks

By: kuffir

kuffir — Wed, 17 Aug 2005 06:17:35 +0000

i regard the supreme court ruling itself as a form of governmental intervention. if the state wishes to take away with the left hand what its right hand is giving away it’s welcome to do so. if the consensus is that quotas in education are unjust, please do away with them. and create a new india that watches while the other india plays.
the much disparaged quotas, i believe, are a crude attempt to build a facade of a society that’s fair. doing away with them would only bring into the open the stupidity of the right-handed communities of india that do not even know the importance of keeping up appearances.

By: Prashant

Prashant — Wed, 17 Aug 2005 02:10:52 +0000

Funny how Indian politicians inveighing against market forces have no qualms about sending their children to private institutions in India or abroad ;-)

By: @mit

@mit — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 23:09:59 +0000

As for the Protectionist environment that some of our so called “entrepreneurs” and politicians want to survive in, it never is actually “protected” because the voting pattern may change all the equations in a jiffy

By: Shelby

Shelby — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 22:11:57 +0000

Of course, children are more sophisticated than politicians, who can be scared spitless by market forces.

By: @mit

@mit — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 19:53:03 +0000

Funny - see we allowed you laissez faire and now you are scaring my kids