IIT student regrets using quota benefit

Mumbai: Though the UPA government's move to increase reservation in educational institutions has made students take to the streets in Delhi and sparked a national debate, here is a scheduled caste student in IIT Bombay, who wishes he had never got in through quota.

Pouring over books and spending hours figuring out scientific theorems is what brought Krishna Das Singh from his small town in Manipur to this haloed institution for technical education.

Now in the third year of Chemical Engineering, Krishna wishes he hadn't come in piggy-backing on his scheduled caste status, because it takes away all the hard work he actually put in.

He says," I regret the fact that i have got here using this category. If i had competed in the open field i would have worked much harder."

His friends say the quota in no way affects their performance and within the institute it’s a level playing field with everyone working hard to earn their degrees.

Another IIT student Dev Suryavanshi says, “Once they get through they have to work hard, if they do that then its ok."

But Krishna fears that the government's move to increase reservation could change all that by actually reducing the quality of students getting in.

He says,"If they hike the percentage of reservation then students will take it lightly and will be more relaxed."

But in this competitive global world, Krishna believes there is no second place and definitely no place for quotas.

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