Tuesday, 28 June 2011

Reservation makes education costly: Jha

Anti-corruption crusader, Anna Hazare, could be the protagonist of a movie by noted filmmaker, Prakash Jha, in the coming months. He would like to address the issue of corruption in this film, which would also take a look at anti-corruption protesters like Baba Ramdev. 

The filmmaker, known for his serious and yet commercially viable films based on contemporary issues, was speaking in the capital about his next film, Aarakshan, which is expected to hit the big screen in the second week of August, starringAmitabh Bachchan. Jha felt corruption could not be weeded out from society till people themselves took a conscious decision not to give or take bribes. 

Talking about his film, based on reservation, Jha said he was perturbed to learn that a primary school in Juhu, Mumbai, charged Rs 1 lakh per month for imparting education to children. This harsh reality egged him on to make the film, which is backed by years of intense research. 

Hailing from Bihar, Jha has been witness to the abject poverty of the people here and also realized the importance of education among the poor. "Since the time the Mandal Commission came into force, there were certain inevitable changes in Indian society and today most of us are forced to believe that reservation has triggered commercialization of education," he said. 

To justify his statement, Jha said reservation had reduced the number of seats and competition grew tougher. "Once competition was tough there came the role of private tuition and coaching institutions along with the option of private colleges and universities which offered seats at a premium," he pointed out. 

He felt the day is not far away when high costs of education would fail to produce scientists and innovators. 

"I have tried to initiate a dialogue among masses that revolves around the theme of India versus India where the concept of shining India no longer requires innovators and scientists," he said.

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