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By Rajkamal Rao
Go back to Comparing Life US v. India
Although Indian families resident in the US are considered minorities, US affirmative action programs have not generally benefited the average Indian child growing up in the US. There are two reasons. First, Indian children generally do well in both curricular and extracurricular activities and are able to achieve success through the general applicant pool. Second, most affirmative action programs are intended to help black and hispanic populations since these groups are relatively underrepresented. The US Supreme Court has ruled that colleges cannot use racial quotas in admissions - that is setting aside a fixed percentage of seats for disadvantaged minorities - although, the Court has affirmed that colleges can use an applicant’s race as one of many criteria in the admissions process.
In India, the so-called quota based “Reservations System” that families probably suffered through before they migrated to the West continues to exist and has actually expanded in recent years. Gardiner Harris of The New York Times reports in an Oct 7, 2012 article that “in Tamil Nadu, for instance, 69 percent of university admissions are now set aside for what the state has determined to be “backward castes.” Many of those favored with these set-asides have controlled Tamil Nadu’s government and much of its resources for generations, but they claim special status by pointing to a caste survey done in 1931.” The article goes on to conclude what is well known to local Indians - that children of wealthy and powerful backward castes continue to get preferences in admissions often at the cost of more middle class children of the so-called elite castes.
Reservations are practiced even by elite institutions such as the Indian Institute of Management. A look at IIM Bangalore's 2009 admission table reveals not only that 26% of the seats were reserved for students of various caste groups but also that the grade needed to make the cut was different for the different groups. For example, a student belonging to the Scheduled Caste community (Dalits) needed to score only 70% on the qualifying Common Admissions Test (CAT) versus 90% for a student in the general category (OTH).
Returning Indian families are advised to counsel their children that their inability to get into Indian colleges is not always because they didn’t do well. Competition for the few “merit seats” is intense and much more so than in America. Children must be reassured that the world doesn’t end if they can’t get in through the general quota - and that other options (such as securing a “donation” seat - where the family pays a sizeable donation to an institution in exchange for admission) are available.
Go back to Comparing Life US v. India
Although Indian families resident in the US are considered minorities, US affirmative action programs have not generally benefited the average Indian child growing up in the US. There are two reasons. First, Indian children generally do well in both curricular and extracurricular activities and are able to achieve success through the general applicant pool. Second, most affirmative action programs are intended to help black and hispanic populations since these groups are relatively underrepresented. The US Supreme Court has ruled that colleges cannot use racial quotas in admissions - that is setting aside a fixed percentage of seats for disadvantaged minorities - although, the Court has affirmed that colleges can use an applicant’s race as one of many criteria in the admissions process.
In India, the so-called quota based “Reservations System” that families probably suffered through before they migrated to the West continues to exist and has actually expanded in recent years. Gardiner Harris of The New York Times reports in an Oct 7, 2012 article that “in Tamil Nadu, for instance, 69 percent of university admissions are now set aside for what the state has determined to be “backward castes.” Many of those favored with these set-asides have controlled Tamil Nadu’s government and much of its resources for generations, but they claim special status by pointing to a caste survey done in 1931.” The article goes on to conclude what is well known to local Indians - that children of wealthy and powerful backward castes continue to get preferences in admissions often at the cost of more middle class children of the so-called elite castes.
Reservations are practiced even by elite institutions such as the Indian Institute of Management. A look at IIM Bangalore's 2009 admission table reveals not only that 26% of the seats were reserved for students of various caste groups but also that the grade needed to make the cut was different for the different groups. For example, a student belonging to the Scheduled Caste community (Dalits) needed to score only 70% on the qualifying Common Admissions Test (CAT) versus 90% for a student in the general category (OTH).
Returning Indian families are advised to counsel their children that their inability to get into Indian colleges is not always because they didn’t do well. Competition for the few “merit seats” is intense and much more so than in America. Children must be reassured that the world doesn’t end if they can’t get in through the general quota - and that other options (such as securing a “donation” seat - where the family pays a sizeable donation to an institution in exchange for admission) are available.
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