Quota system abolished

The prime minister's announcement to do away with the quota system for public service exams is a very welcome decision and we are all relieved to know that students have called off their demonstrations until the government publishes a gazette notification formalising the abolishment of the quota system. We hope that the necessary implementation process will be initiated soon.

The decision to scrap reservation for entry into government jobs will indeed recognise merit and raise the quality of civil servants entering public service as it will now be a competitive examination, where the more meritorious students will have a better chance of selection. Indeed, given the challenges the nation faces in our transition from the LDC category, and the timely meeting of the objectives of the SDG, without a good crop of efficient and meritorious civil servants it would not be easy to do.

However, we also note that the PM has kept in consideration the need for special dispensation for some disadvantaged groups. It is important that the government work out a mechanism whereby the most backward segments of the people get a chance to come up to par with the other segments of the society in keeping with the constitutional obligations. The prime minister has stated in her speech in the parliament that the government would arrange jobs for the physically challenged and members of ethnic minorities, for which the rules for employment of members belonging to those groups need to be finalised soon.