AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
1. Context
On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a significant ruling, declaring race-conscious student admissions policies at the University of North Carolina (UNC) and Harvard College as unlawful. In a 6-3 and 6-2 vote, the Supreme Court declared the admission programs of Harvard College and UNC lacking measurable objectives to justify the use of race as a criterion. The decision came in favour of Students for Fair Admissions, an organization opposing race-based admissions in colleges.
2. Affirmative Action
- Affirmative action is a policy aimed at promoting equal opportunities for historically underrepresented demographics or minorities in educational or professional sectors.
- It originated in 1961 when President John F. Kennedy signed an executive order to ensure equal employment without regard to race, creed, colour, or national origin.
- President Richard Nixon later expanded the concept to encompass federal employment and prohibit discrimination.
3. The Equal Protection Clause
The Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause mandates the government to provide equality to all citizens and prevent the denial of protection based on race or other factors. This clause plays a pivotal role in safeguarding civil rights.
4. Race as a Factor in College Admissions
- Approximately 40% of U.S. colleges and universities, including Harvard, consider race in some capacity during admissions.
- The judgment reveals that Harvard College assigns numerical scores to admissions applications across various categories.
- The composite "overall" rating, which includes factors such as academic performance and extracurricular involvement, can also consider an applicant's race.
- Similarly, UNC utilizes a similar process, with the admissions office assigning numerical ratings to applicants, considering race as a factor during the review.
5. Potential Impact of the Decision
- This is not the first time affirmative action has been deemed unlawful for U.S. colleges. California, for instance, banned affirmative action in public universities in 1996.
- In a recent case, the President and Chancellors of the University of California (UC) expressed their struggles to enrol a racially diverse student body, highlighting a significant drop in minority enrollments since 1996.
- Studies analyzing states that banned affirmative action have found declining representation of underrepresented minorities in flagship universities.
6. The Way Forward
- Affirmative action has been a longstanding policy aimed at promoting equal opportunities, but this decision underscores the challenges and controversies surrounding the use of race as a factor in admissions processes.
- The impact of this ruling on future admissions policies and efforts to achieve diversity in higher education remains to be seen.
| For Prelims: U.S. Supreme Court, Harvard College, Affirmative Action, University of North Carolina, Race discrimination, President John F. Kennedy, President Richard Nixon, Equal Protection clause |
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Previous Year Questions
1. Comprehension
Read the following two passages and answer the items that follow. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only.
The best universities like Harvard and MIT, despite having the luxury of having some truly excellent teachers on their payroll, are increasingly embracing the "flipped classroom" format, where students listen to video lectures at home, and spend class time applying their knowledge, solving problems, discussing examples, etc. Professors guide that discussion and fill in wherever necessary, explaining those bits that seem to be eluding the students and throwing in advanced ideas that happen to be topical. These universities have made their video lectures available free for anyone in the world. They are also encouraging colleges and universities all over the world to integrate these online courses into their own pedagogy, picking the pieces that are appropriate for their needs and building a package around them.
Which one of the following statements best reflects the central idea of the passage given above? (UPSC 2021)
A. Efficacy of universities would be better in online mode of conducting classroom tuition as compared, to conventional method
B. Availability of higher education can be made easier and cheaper without diluting the content. C. We need not invest much in infrastructure related to higher education and yet develop better human and social capital.
D. Private sector institutions in higher education, as well as coaching institutes, can take advantage of this opportunity and thrive well.
Answer: B
2. Which of the following statements appropriately describes the "fiscal stimulus"? (UPSC 2011)
A. It is a massive investment by the Government of the manufacturing sector to ensure the supply of goods to meet the demand surge caused by rapid economic growth.
B. It is an intense affirmative action of the Government to boost economic activity in the country.
C. It is the Government's action of financial institutions to ensure the disbursement of loans to agriculture and allied sectors to promote greater food production and contain food inflation.
D. It is an extreme affirmative action by the Government to pursue its policy of financial inclusion.
Answer: B
3. Equality before the law or equal protection of the laws within the territory of India is guaranteed under which one of the following Articles of the Constitution of India? (CDS 2021)
A. Article 14 B. Article 15 C. Article 16 D. Article 22
Answer: A
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Source: The Hindu
