THE  MODERN  RATIONALIST

Tamil Nadu has the highest percentage of quota and the best Public Health Care in the Country

SEAT SHARING

Tamil Nadu has 69% reservation not only in medical colleges but also in recruitment of government doctors Of the 69% seats reserved, 30% is for BC, 20% for MBC, 18% for SC and 1% for ST
The remaining 31% is open for all categories, including communities outside reservation. These people constitute 13% of the state’s population.
Backwarrd classes (BC) constitute nearly 46% of the state’s population and most backward classes (MBC) around 18%

The performance of the public health sector in Tamil Nadu is a shot in the arm for pro-reservationists. The state, with some of the best health indices in the country, has a public health system that is almost entirely run by doctors from the reserved categories, reported The Times of India, Chennai on 30th June.
The government’s database of over 8,450 doctors in the public health sector shows nearly 88% are from various reserved categories. Almost 61% of the doctors are from backward communities (BC), 18% from the scheduled castes (SC) category, 8% from the most backward classes (MBC) and 22 doctors comprising 0.3% from the scheduled tribes (ST) category.
The other communities (OC) including forward castes accounts for just 12% of the doctors working in the public sector. Incidentally, about 300 doctors in public health are Muslims, most of them included in the BC category, constituting 4% of the health system. The Muslim population in the state according to the 2001 census is 5.6%.
In Tamil Nadu, 69% reservation is implemented not only in medical colleges but also in recruitment. Of this 69%, 30% is for BC, 20% for MBC, 18% for SC and 1% for ST. The remaining 31% is kept open for all categories including the other communities outside reservation who constitute 13% of the population.
The population break-up in Tamil Nadu, according to the state government’s estimates is: BC 46.14%, MBC 17.43%, Denotified Tribes 3.44%, SC 19%, ST 1.04% and Others 12.95%. From this, it is quite obvious that MBCs are significantly underrepresented, while the BC category representation in public health is way beyond their proportion of the population.
While part of this is obviously coming at the expense of MBCs, perhaps because there aren’t enough MBC candidates to fill the posts reserved for them, most of it is from BCs who make it through the open category.
In the case of Tamil Nadu, the 69% reservation is followed not only in admission to medical colleges but also in nursing colleges and in the recruitment of government staff in any capacity. And of the total number of doctors in public health, only 33% have just a basic MBBS degree, which means two-thirds have higher qualifications.
What the data shows is there is hardly any difference across categories in terms of the proportion of doctors with basic degrees and those with higher qualifications.
Debunking the idea of reservations causing a deterioration in health education and services, Tamil Nadu’s performance in public health only seems to be getting better with time. In vaccination coverage it holds the best record in the country, 81% coverage, outdoing even Kerala (75%), often cited as the state with the best health indices.
Tamil Nadu also records 90% institutional deliveries, second only to Kerala (100%). And in maternal health, Tami Nadu holds the best record, leaving even Kerala and Andhra Pradesh far behind. Every successive National Family Health Survey has indicated steady progress on almost all aspects of public health care in Tamil Nadu.
The Director of Medical Education, Dr T P Kalanidhi, says that the reasons for such an exemplary performance is the training provided. “Training provided in the medical colleges in Tamil Nadu is among the best. Our syllabus is comparable to the Western world. Hence, even people who come from a position of disadvantage become competent professionals with the best training. A quality public health system with good infrastructure even in the rural primary health centres enables doctors to function efficiently,” says Dr Kalanidhi.
He further states that in Tamil Nadu more than 50% of the students who get into professional colleges come from rural areas. “With the abolition of the entrance exam the percentage has increased further and thus even students without much backing manage to make it to professional colleges. Since they hail from rural areas, working in these areas nothing new to them. Plus, the government provides residential quarters and all facilities for those on rural posting,” he says.
According to the secretary of the Tamil Nadu branch of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Dr T N Ravishankar, the state’s policies right from the days of Periyar to uplift the downtrodden is showing results now.
“Tamil Nadu is proof that there no deterioration in standards due to reservation. The reason states like Uttar Pradesh, Orissa and Bihar face shortage of doctors is because of their inability to reach out to large sections of the downtrodden.”
In fact, the IMA in most states are against reservation, including the branches in southern states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. But in Tamil Nadu, the IMA fully backs reservation.