The directive of the Supreme Court that there should be no reservation for admission to postgraduate medical courses in the country is unfortunate and one that stems from observations not rooted in social justice, Minister for Welfare of Backward Classes and Tourism A. P. Anil Kumar has said.
A press note issued here on Thursday said such observations from the apex court, seen by the weaker sections of society as the last refuge for the upkeep of reservations mandated by the Constitution, would only leave these sections of the population a hopeless lot. The apex court should, instead, have made an attempt at verifying the reality on the ground. Even after more than 50 years of reservation, even in a State such as Kerala, not even 25 per cent of students from the Scheduled Tribes who qualify for admission to medical degree courses are actually able to get admission. In such circumstances if reservation is done away with for postgraduate medical courses, the result would be a complete alienation of these communities from higher medical learning, the press note said.
The apex court has observed that reservations need not be continued 68 years after they were introduced. What is essential now is an assessment of how beneficial reservation was for the communities that are eligible for it.
