Through your esteemed newspaper, I wish to highlight a concern that many students and parents hesitate to speak about openly. Examinations like NET and KSET decide who becomes a college or university teacher ” a role that directly shapes the future of our nation. While reservation has played an important role in addressing historical injustice and ensuring representation, the widening gap in cut-off marks between General Merit and reserved categories has created real anxiety. When a candidate who scores significantly higher is treated on par with someone who qualifies through a much lower reserved cutoff, it raises an uncomfortable yet necessary question: Does our education system believe that someone scoring considerably less is equally prepared to teach the next generation? If not addressed, this perception risks becoming a mockery of the standards we expect in higher education. This is not an argument against reservation, but an appeal for its periodic review. Strengthening minimum benchmarks, tightening creamy-layer norms, and including economic disadvantage as a criterion can help balance representation with merit. In a profession as critical as teaching, both fairness and academic excellence must go hand in hand to protect India’s educational future.
