Saritha Rai Writes in Indian Express
Posted online: Mon Jun 07 2010, 23:32 hrs 
It is a gender skew that has been introduced so gently and noiselessly that it has been barely noticed. In Bangalore and, more widely, in Karnataka, girls have outperformed boys in school board examinations in the past few years. Now, leading colleges in this city are using this as a reason to raise the entry bar for female applicants.
It is college admission season in Bangalore. Caste-based and economic status-based reservations abound. But this sneaky move can only be viewed as a backdoor quota system for boys.
Prominent colleges like MES College and National College have set a higher cut-off percentage for admitting girls. In the much sought-after Science course at the pre-university (Plus Two) level at MES, the cut off marks for boys is 594 while it is 599 for girls. In another preferred Commerce course, the cut-off for boys is 553 and for girls 580.
This blatant discrimination is being explained away by colleges who say that girls are better performers so boys need a leg up to equalise classroom numbers. It is incongruous that colleges are being allowed to get away doing this in a country where education and opportunities have always favored the male gender.
“This is completely absurd,” says Dilip Thakore, editor of the Bangalore-based EducationWorld magazine. “In our education system, girls are thwarted every step of the way from the time they enter school to the time they leave college, so this is like piling on the injustice.”
Thakore says that the education system works heavily against girls, more so in rural and underprivileged neighbourhoods. “The scandal is that a critical necessity such as a toilet is unavailable in thousands of government-run schools making it impossible for girls to attend classes once they reach puberty,” says Thakore.
While the government is going all out to improve enrollment of girls in schools, admission inequities in a modern city like Bangalore only highlight old biases. “The colleges are sending out a message loud and clear — boys need education to pursue a career whereas a girl, even if educated, will get married, have children and abandon her career so why should she be encouraged?” says Manjula Babu, an aspiring law student.
Given the historical advantages that boys enjoy in Indian society, the move by Bangalore colleges is patently unfair says B.K. Anitha, associate professor at the school of social sciences in the National Institute of Advanced Studies. College education is driven by merit, and gender should not be a criterion, says Anitha. “If girls are bridging the education gap and are finally doing better, now is not the time to penalise them,” she says.
School enrollment numbers in rural areas have traditionally slanted towards boys but even in big cities, professional courses see a big tilt towards male students. In Bangalore, only 28 per cent of engineering students are girls, says Anitha. “Why won’t colleges first erase this structural inequality?” she asks.
Meanwhile, parents have begun questioning the legality of such discriminatory college admission policies. A girl who scored 94.67 at the pre-university level was denied admission despite the cut-off being much lower at the St. Joseph’s College of Commerce in the city. The college said it gave admission preference to boys.
The girl’s father has charged the college with gender discrimination and said he would fight on behalf of his daughter. He has filed a writ petition in the Karnataka High Court.
As more girls apply to get into colleges and push ahead to surpass boys, some people may be rattled. Nevertheless colleges need to create level fields based on merit, providing a chance for long-standing imbalances in education to be righted. “After all, if India wants to compete internationally, merit and nothing else should be counted,” says Anitha, the social sciences specialist.
saritha.rai@expressindia.com
It is a gender skew that has been introduced so gently and noiselessly that it has been barely noticed. In Bangalore and, more widely, in Karnataka, girls have outperformed boys in school board examinations in the past few years. Now, leading colleges in this city are using this as a reason to raise the entry bar for female applicants.
It is college admission season in Bangalore. Caste-based and economic status-based reservations abound. But this sneaky move can only be viewed as a backdoor quota system for boys.
Prominent colleges like MES College and National College have set a higher cut-off percentage for admitting girls. In the much sought-after Science course at the pre-university (Plus Two) level at MES, the cut off marks for boys is 594 while it is 599 for girls. In another preferred Commerce course, the cut-off for boys is 553 and for girls 580.
This blatant discrimination is being explained away by colleges who say that girls are better performers so boys need a leg up to equalise classroom numbers. It is incongruous that colleges are being allowed to get away doing this in a country where education and opportunities have always favored the male gender.
“This is completely absurd,” says Dilip Thakore, editor of the Bangalore-based EducationWorld magazine. “In our education system, girls are thwarted every step of the way from the time they enter school to the time they leave college, so this is like piling on the injustice.”
Thakore says that the education system works heavily against girls, more so in rural and underprivileged neighbourhoods. “The scandal is that a critical necessity such as a toilet is unavailable in thousands of government-run schools making it impossible for girls to attend classes once they reach puberty,” says Thakore.
While the government is going all out to improve enrollment of girls in schools, admission inequities in a modern city like Bangalore only highlight old biases. “The colleges are sending out a message loud and clear — boys need education to pursue a career whereas a girl, even if educated, will get married, have children and abandon her career so why should she be encouraged?” says Manjula Babu, an aspiring law student.
Given the historical advantages that boys enjoy in Indian society, the move by Bangalore colleges is patently unfair says B.K. Anitha, associate professor at the school of social sciences in the National Institute of Advanced Studies. College education is driven by merit, and gender should not be a criterion, says Anitha. “If girls are bridging the education gap and are finally doing better, now is not the time to penalise them,” she says.
School enrollment numbers in rural areas have traditionally slanted towards boys but even in big cities, professional courses see a big tilt towards male students. In Bangalore, only 28 per cent of engineering students are girls, says Anitha. “Why won’t colleges first erase this structural inequality?” she asks.
Meanwhile, parents have begun questioning the legality of such discriminatory college admission policies. A girl who scored 94.67 at the pre-university level was denied admission despite the cut-off being much lower at the St. Joseph’s College of Commerce in the city. The college said it gave admission preference to boys.
The girl’s father has charged the college with gender discrimination and said he would fight on behalf of his daughter. He has filed a writ petition in the Karnataka High Court.
As more girls apply to get into colleges and push ahead to surpass boys, some people may be rattled. Nevertheless colleges need to create level fields based on merit, providing a chance for long-standing imbalances in education to be righted. “After all, if India wants to compete internationally, merit and nothing else should be counted,” says Anitha, the social sciences specialist.
saritha.rai@expressindia.com
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