Before a decision on the extension of quota system, the pros and cons of both systems should be thoroughly examined.
ISLAMABAD: A decision on whether the quota system will be extended or not is to take place soon. May I suggest that before such a decision is taken, it must be ensured that the pros and cons of the merit-based and quota-based systems are thoroughly examined and a practicable percentage between the two fixed.
It also needs to be ensured that the quota is allotted to only those from an underprivileged rural background, whose major part of schooling was also from those areas. It should also be remembered that if the quota-based system is extended at the expense of the merit-based one, it will fuel parochialism.
Lt Col (retd) Javaid Iqbal
Published in The Express Tribune, July 22nd, 2013.
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