TIRUCHY: The implementation of 7.5 percent reservation for government school students in admissions to professional and medical courses by the State government is virtually eclipsing schemes introduced by the DMK government during its previous term for the uplift of SC/ST students.
During 2006-11, the DMK government, under then chief minister M Karunanidhi, implemented a scheme through the Adi Dravidar Welfare Department. Under the scheme, 10 meritorious students belonging to SC/ST communities from every district, who scored good marks in government schools, would be selected and financially assisted to study Class 11 and Class 12 in a reputable private school. The department would spend Rs 56,000 on a student for two years.
A similar scheme was also implemented to aid meritorious Class 5 government school students from the communities to pursue higher education in private schools. Under the scheme, one student from every block would be selected for the benefit. These schemes were aimed at helping government school students belonging to SC/ST communities compete more effectively for admission to professional courses, as per the department's policy.
Following the introduction of 7.5 percent reservation in admission to medical courses by the AIADMK government last year, the number of applicants for these schemes plummeted. Moreover, with the DMK government now extending the 7.5 percent quota to all professional courses, including engineering, agriculture, veterinary, fisheries and law, officials are unable to find interested candidates for these schemes this year. According to sources, in Tiruchy 10 students benefited from the scheme for higher secondary classes in 2019-20. In 2020-21, the scheme saw just two beneficiaries. For 2021-2022, only one student in the entire district has shown interest and has been called for assessment on September 22. "If that student backs out, there will be no takers for the scheme this year," a source said.
Such was the situation in identifying beneficiaries from Class 5 in government schools. A block education officer said,
"A few years ago, every school in my block would send one student from Class 5. A minimum of 30 students would show interest for the one seat allotted for the block. I used to conduct a test to select that one candidate. Now, no one shows interest because of the 7.5 percent reservation. After the implementation of reservation, at least 500 students from private schools joined government schools in my block alone."
Several students from SC/ST communities benefited under the scheme and are now in a good position. R Rameshkumar, who was a beneficiary in 2012-13, completed BDS and is now preparing for PG NEET.
He said, "I was studying in a government school in my village. Through the scheme, I joined a reputable private school for higher secondary. I scored good marks in Class 12 and joined MMC to study BDS. The scheme has really transformed my life."
Several headmasters of government schools with whom TNIE spoke with opined that the State government may issue an order to also include the beneficiaries under the Adi Dravidar Welfare Scheme under the ambit of 7.5 percent reservation.
When asked about the possibility of this, a senior official of the department said, “It is up to students to decide under which scheme they want to avail benefit. It is not possible to arrange for the same candidates to benefit under two schemes at once.”
Educationist Prince Gajendra Babu said, "I see it as a healthy trend if the 7.5 percent quota scheme retains the students in government schools. Moving toppers from government schools to private schools is itself an unjust move. If the reservation is superseding the old scheme, I welcome that."
How many benefited:
# In 2020-21, a total of 1, 931 students benefited through admissions in Class 6 in reputable private schools
# For 2021-22, the government allotted Rs 13 crore for the schemes # In 2020-21, a total of 185 boys and 259 girls benefited through admissions in Class 11 in reputable private schools
# In 2021-22, the government allotted Rs 2 crore for the schemes