AA edit: Protect worthy institutions

Article 30 of the Indian Constitution, which grants religious and linguistic minorities the right to “establish and administer educational institutions of their choice”, has been one of the most misused Articles, by merchants of education, especially of professional education. They have successfully stalled governments’ attempt to bring merit and social justice into the admission criteria by taking cover under this Article, especially after the nineties. The court-mandated introduction of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admissions in undergraduate and post-graduate medical courses in 2016 was an attempt to rein in these forces, and hence the latest assertion of the apex court that NEET score is applicable in minorities-run institutions is welcome.

However, the court, which has been consistently referring to imposing reasonable restrictions to ensure merit and transparency, failed to appreciate the fact that one of the petitioners, Christian Medical College, Vellore, has an unblemished record on these counts ever since it was founded 120 years ago. The very raison d'être of NEET, as per the court’s observation, are the malpractices of granting illegal admission by virtually selling the seats in derogation to rights of meritorious students”. It will be miscarriage of justice if an institution, which has never been accused of such malpractices and has never failed the triple test of a fair, transparent and non-exploitative admission method, fixed by the apex court itself, is told to bear others’ cross alongside the thieves. It is surprising that the court refused to see merit in the demand that the institution of international repute be allowed to have some additional criteria over and above the threshold fixed by the state. It will be a travesty of justice and constitutional principles if we cannot differentiate between a CMC and merchant’s shops of medical education. It is now up to the government to step in and ensure that such institutions that bring glory to the nation by producing professionals of exemplary nature be given the freedom to continue with the good work they do. Granting them an “institution of national importance” status and exempting them from the routine prescribed for the ordinary will be one way of doing it.