In most states of India, the season of school and college admissions, that is around the time of June, is a season of worry and tension for parents who wish secure entry for their children in one of the preferred institutions. The paucity of seats available compared to the high demand has led to the practice of the unscrupulous authorities of some of these institutions selling the seats to the highest bidder under the pretext of collecting 'so-called' donations. The people who suffer the most in this scenario are the middle-class parents for whom a good education for their children is a lifetime's ambition. They are willing to scrape together every penny they have saved to realize this ambition. They even go to the extent of withdrawing the provisions they have made for their retirement days. It is this willingness to sacrifice all for their children that the 'donation' menace victimizes. Thus it is an issue that has to be addressed urgently and comprehensively.

The solution to this problem lies in tackling the issue at three levels: the government level, the college level and the parents level.

At earlier times the 11+4 system was followed in India. Later it was modified to the 10+2+3 system being followed now, ie, 10 years of school, 2 years of 'junior college' and the three-year degree course. The two-year course was originally to be a composite course offering subjects from all branches including science, arts and commerce. Later on, vested interests saw to it that this course was to be divided into specialized streams , viz, 'science-oriented', 'arts-oriented', etc. The second and more vital aspect of this system as originally conceived, was that this 2-year course was to be done at the school level itself. But in order to safeguard the interests of a few teachers who may be displaced at the college level due to this change, colleges were allowed to continue with the course for a temporary period. But this practice has continued till date and the shift to schools has been put in cold storage.

Kerala, as usual, has taken the lead in this issue also. The government there has given a time-frame for schools to develop the infrastructure required for the 2-year course. It has already removed the 'pre-degree' or intermediate course from colleges.

How will this arrangement help in eradicating the menace of 'donations'? As and when schools begin to provide two more years of education, one point at which donations are required will vanish. Moreover, as there are more schools than colleges, the demand for seats will not outstrip the supply by as large a margin as it does at present. After a student completes his XII standard from his school, he will have umpteen avenues to choose from for further studies as compared to the previous three he had after the X standard. These avenues are degree courses in medical and engineering colleges, and the usual arts, science and commerce degrees, with their many sub-divisions. Thus, the supply of courses and the demand from students will tend to be almost equal. This will consequently reduce the 'donations' menace. Hence, it would be advisable for the other states in India which have so far not adopted the Kerala-model to do the same.

It is understandable that colleges require funds for providing all the amenities like laboratories, libraries, sports grounds, halls, etc, and that, in a country like India, these things cannot be maintained solely on the fees received from the students. But, to achieve these aims, requiring donations as a pre-requisite to admissions is both morally and legally indefensible.

There are other modes too through which the same aim of raising funds can be achieved. For example, printing of souvenirs to commemorate special events in the college and collecting revenue in the form of advertisements in these publications. Both parents and their wards can contribute in these endeavours. They can also arrange cultural functions that can be educational as well as profitable to the institution. Donations if at all they are collected at the time of admissions should be purely voluntary, as is the practice in some institutions, for example in Kerala, where admissions are made on the basis of merit lists published and the donations are collected only after the completion of the admission process and that too through persuasion without any compulsion. All this will go a long way in reducing the pressure on the harried parents at the time of admissions.

Students tend to follow trends and fashions existing at a particular point of time in choosing the courses and colleges. This flock-mentality should be discouraged. Parents should also realize that most colleges have the faculty capable of teaching their children and that those colleges which enjoy an exceptional reputation have only gained that fame by attracting the best students over the years and not because of their inherent faculties. Thus it is not worth spending hard-earned money just to gain admission for your ward in a fashionable college. In the final analysis it is the capability and hard work of the student that count in making him a success.

The students who pursue professional degrees after obtaining admission through the non-paid seats should also bear in mind that their education has been subsidized by the government to the extent of lakhs of rupees per student. It is common for many of these students to migrate to greener avenues outside their country and to forget their debt both to their parents and their country. If they feel that their country is unable to fulfil their aspirations, they could at least partly repay their debt by contributing funds to increase the number of seats in the medical and engineering colleges so that more Indians can benefit from them.